Over the last decade, China has risen to become the single largest trade partner for many African countries. It has also become a major source of financial support for various development projects being undertaken on the continent.
Infrastructure development is a key pillar of the China-Africa relationship. In Africa, infrastructure projects awarded to Chinese companies are financed by their government through loans and grants.
Based on the cost of construction, below are 10 of the mega infrastructure projects in Africa funded by China.
Sources; BBC, fin24.com, The Diplomat
This is the largest ever contract awarded to a Chinese company in Africa. The project is worth $12 billion. The deal was signed between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) on November 19, 2014. The railway is 1,402 km in length and upon completion; it will link Lagos, the nation’s economic capital, with the eastern city of Calabar, passing through 10 states. It will also link cities with the oil rich state of Niger Delta.
The project is worth $7 billion. It is funded by China Merchants Holdings International and State Government Reserve Fund of the Oman government. The port being built in Bagamoyo, a coastal town in Tanzania. It be able to handle about 20 million containers annually and will be the largest port on the East African coastline, bigger than the Port of Mombasa in Kenya. Its construction started in October, 2015, but was halted earlier this year due to financial constraint facing the Tanzanian government.
The Modderfontein New City Project, being built on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Johannesburg. The project, worth $ 7 billion, is one of the biggest real estate projects undertaken by a Chinese firm in the country. A Chinese company, Shanghai Zendai, is building the city which will be home to at least 10,000 residents upon completion. The city will have finance and trade facilities, an industrial zone, sports and recreation facilities and an African heritage theme park.
This is the biggest infrastructural project in Kenya since independence. It is worth $3.8 billion. China Exim Bank has funded 85 percent of the project (about $ 3.1 billion). Construction on the 609 km rail line began in October 2013. The first phase connecting the port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi is set to be complete by December, 2017. The railway line will ease transport of passengers and cargo between the two cities. It is part of a modern standard gauge railway that will connect Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
The deal was signed on September 17, 2007 between the Democratic Republic of Congo government and China. It is worth $ 6 billion and is funded by China Exim Bank. The deal was to develop the mine fields in Mashamba and Dima basins and Kolwezi. In return for the loan, the Democratic Republic of Congo government was to give copper mines, with approximately 10.6 million tonnes of copper for exploration and mining by Chinese companies.
The project is worth $5.6 billion. It was signed by the Government of Chad and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation on March 14, 2014. The 1,344 km railway is being constructed in three phases and will also link the two nations with Cameroon. Its constructions started in October, 2014. China Export-Import Bank has funded $2 billion with the rest coming from Chinese loans from government.
The deal was signed between Africa’s biggest cement producer, owned by the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote, and Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd, a Chinese construction company. It is worth $4.34 billion. The project is an expansion of the Dangote Cement Plc into Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Mali, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. This will increase cement production by 25 million metric tonnes and boost the overall production to over 70 million metric tonnes annually.
It is worth $3.1 billion. The deal was signed by the Mozambican government and Export-Import Bank of China on April 21, 2006. The project upon completion would provide 1,500 megawatts of power to the national electricity grid of Mozambique. The project also covers the construction of Moamba-Major Dam that will supply drinking water to the residents of Maputo.
China has funded $1.7 billion worth of infrastructural projects in the Southern Africa country. The deal includes a 300 megawatts coal-powered station at Kam’mwamba worth$667.2 million and reconstruction of the Chileka International Airport at a cost of $285.4 million. Others are the 140km Tsangano-Mwanza (in Tanzania) road construction worth $169.4 million, upgrading of the Phombeya-Makanjira-Nkhotakota-Chatoloma 220 kV power line worth $189.3million and $23 million to fund construction of the Blantyre District Hospital and Cancer Centre.
The project is worth $1.3 billion. It was signed on February 28, 2007 between Sudan and to Chinese companies; China Railway Engineering Group Co. Ltd and China Railway Erju Co. Ltd. It was funded by the Chinese government through export credits. The project was completed in 2012 and connects Port Sudan to the country’s capital, Khartoum in a 762 km of rail network.