The Africa Construction Intelligence Report
Friday, 27 February 2026 | Vol. 1, No. 2
Kenya securitises $3bn for rail. Angola negotiates without oil collateral. Africa funds its own future.
A pattern is crystallising across Africa this week that should command the attention of every construction executive and infrastructure investor. Kenya is securitising its Railway Development Levy to fund a $3 billion SGR extension — bypassing Chinese lending entirely. Angola is negotiating a $4.8 billion refinery loan from Beijing, but on fundamentally different terms: no oil collateral. Tanzania just commissioned its first utility-scale solar plant. And Dangote is expanding ports, steel, and refining across the continent from a construction trailer in Lagos.
The common thread: African nations and African industrialists are financing their own infrastructure futures, whether through capital markets, innovative debt structures, or sheer industrial ambition. The era of dependency on a single external creditor is closing.
For construction firms, the implication is clear: the pipeline is diversifying, the financing is creative, and the opportunities favour those who can move fast.
Nairobi's plan to fund the SGR extension via capital markets marks a strategic pivot in African infrastructure financing
Kenya has commenced land acquisition for the Sh380 billion ($3 billion) Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway extension, financing the 475km project by securitising 90% of its Railway Development Levy through a bond listed on local capital markets — a deliberate departure from the Chinese loans that funded the first two SGR phases.
Kenya is securitising its Railway Levy to fund the SGR extension — bypassing Chinese lending and signalling a new era of domestic infrastructure finance.
The move follows Kenya's successful renegotiation of its $3.5 billion China Exim Bank SGR loan into Renminbi, extending maturities to 2040 and saving over $215 million annually. Janus Henderson analysts note the securitisation approach, while 'politically attractive,' blurs the line between on- and off-balance-sheet liabilities — a concern shared by the IMF and World Bank.
The extension will complete the SGR corridor from Mombasa to the Ugandan border at Malaba, unlocking a critical East African trade artery. Uganda has already secured funding for its own Malaba-Kampala segment, creating a seamless standard-gauge link from the Indian Ocean to the heart of the continent.
For construction firms and engineering consultancies, the project represents one of East Africa's largest procurement opportunities in 2026. The strategic question is whether Kenya's innovative financing model can be replicated across the continent.
From 1 May, 53 African nations gain tariff-free access to the world's second-largest market — with profound implications for building materials and industrial supply chains
Starting 1 May 2026, China will eliminate tariffs on all imports from the 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations — a sweeping expansion from the 33 least-developed nations covered previously. For the construction sector, the implications run deeper than headlines suggest.
Africa has continuously maintained: more trade, not aid. Access to a 1.4 billion unified national market is absolutely the kind of opportunity Africa has been looking forward to.
— Charles Onunaiju, Director, Center for China Studies Nigeria
The policy creates immediate incentives for African manufacturers of processed minerals, building materials, and industrial goods to scale production for export. Middle-income nations like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco — previously subject to tariffs of up to 25% — now gain full access. Analysts at CABEF note this could accelerate manufacturing relocation to Africa and create new regional trade hubs, particularly in East Africa.
For construction executives, two dynamics matter. First, the policy strengthens the case for Chinese investment in African industrial parks and special economic zones — infrastructure that must be built. Second, it creates competitive pressure on African nations to upgrade ports, roads, and logistics corridors to move goods efficiently. Both dynamics expand the project pipeline.
The Central Bank of Nigeria cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 26.5% — the first reduction in this easing cycle — as inflation eased to 15.10% and foreign reserves climbed to $50.45 billion, a 13-year high. The Housing Development Advocacy Network says the cut will lower mortgage costs, where financing currently accounts for 30-40% of total housing project expenses. Meanwhile, Dangote is expanding his Lekki port infrastructure with four additional tanker jetties and deepening the harbour to 14.5 metres, positioning Nigeria as a West African bunkering hub.
Finance Minister Godongwana's 2026 Budget confirms R1 trillion in public infrastructure spending over the medium term — R577.4 billion from state-owned entities, R217.8 billion from provinces, and R205.7 billion from municipalities. The PPP pipeline has swelled to 63 projects, with the six border posts project and Gautrain rapid rail vendor procurement expected to reach financial closure this year — the first major PPP closures in over five years. Debt is set to decline from 78.9% to 76.5% of GDP, stabilising for the first time in 17 years.
Sonangol is negotiating a $4.8 billion loan from Chinese financial institutions for the next phase of its $6.2 billion Lobito refinery — the country's first major Chinese borrowing since 2017. Critically, the deal will not use oil as collateral, marking a departure from the resource-backed lending model that defined Angola-China finance for two decades. A delegation travels to Beijing in April. The refinery is expected to begin producing refined fuels by late 2027, reducing Angola's dependence on imports.
Tanzania has commissioned its first-ever utility-scale solar photovoltaic plant — a landmark 50MW first phase at Kishapu in the Shinyanga Region, with the full 150MW solar park to follow. TANESCO Managing Director Lazaro Twange confirmed the plant is already feeding power into the national grid, with full synchronisation expected by early March.
The project, backed by Agence Française de Développement, includes a 225km high-voltage transmission line and smart grid upgrades. Officials say daytime solar generation will reduce pressure on hydroelectric dams, saving reservoir water for peak evening demand and dry seasons — a critical resilience measure.
Tanzania joins a growing cohort of African nations building out solar infrastructure at scale. The Kishapu project is expected to support mining and agro-processing in the Lake Zone while creating construction and operations employment for the region.
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority resumed international passenger service on 10 February, relaunching the Mukuba train across the full 1,860km between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi — a corridor suspended since June 2024. The restart is the visible edge of a far larger transformation.
Tanzania and Zambia have signed a 30-year concession with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) — the original builder of the line in the 1970s — for an estimated $1.4 billion in rehabilitation. CCECC will procure 32 new locomotives and 762 new wagons, with a three-year infrastructure rehabilitation phase before commercial operations scale up. TAZARA will receive a fixed $15 million annual concession fee plus 2% of gross freight revenues.
The railway, once moving 1.2 million tonnes annually, had collapsed to fewer than 300 tonnes by 2024. Its revival as a 21st-century AfCFTA trade corridor connecting Zambia's mining heartland to the Port of Dar es Salaam represents one of southern Africa's most significant rail infrastructure commitments.
London-listed Eco Buildings has begun mobilising its new glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) manufacturing line in Senegal — a modular construction technology designed to deliver faster, more sustainable buildings compared with conventional methods. The company's shares surged on the announcement as investors recognised the potential to address West Africa's acute housing deficit at scale.
GFRG panels are factory-produced, dramatically reducing on-site construction time and waste. The technology is particularly suited to Africa's urban housing challenge, where the continent faces an estimated shortfall of 50 million units. Meanwhile, Africa's Green Economy Summit (AGES) 2026 in Cape Town this week convened policymakers, financiers, and 200 project developers around a green investment pipeline, with the blue economy alone contributing $300 billion annually to African GDP.
For construction executives, the dual signal is clear: sustainable building technologies are moving from pilot to production, and the financing ecosystem to support them is maturing rapidly.
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