Sino-African Architecture; A Look at the Rise of Chinese-Built Projects Across the African Continent

2020-02-18T11:46:00-05:00

A boom in Sino-African trade relations since 2000 has catapulted China from being a relatively small investor in Africa into becoming the continent's largest economic partner. This shift, in combination with a decreasing profit margin for construction projects in mainland China, has encouraged both Chinese state-owned construction firms (SOC’s) and private contractors to seek new project opportunities on African soil. In 2011, Chinese contractors surpassed European construction companies to become the biggest player in the continent’s construction explosion and rapid urbanization.

In addition to SOC and private enterprise developments, there is a strong political will from Beijing to increase Chinese presence in Africa. At the close of the ‘China-Africa Forum for Cooperation’ summit held in 2018, the Chinese government announced that it had set up a new $60 billion funding pot for the development of projects on the African continent. Today Chinese firms, with their proven track reco...

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Sino-African Architecture; A Look at the Rise of Chinese-Built Projects Across the African Continent