The World Bank’s top 10 contractors in 2021

The World Bank spent $17.7 billion on contracts in the 2021 fiscal year — $3.8 billion more than the previous fiscal year and around 29.2% of the bank’s total 2021 spending. Its contract spending was boosted by contributions to vaccine procurement and the wider COVID-19 response. As a result, this is the most the bank has spent on contracts in the past five years. Devex has analyzed its major contract awards in 2021 to identify the bank’s biggest contractors and to see where the money went. Out of the top 10 recipients in 2021, only two were part of the 2020 list: Larsen & Toubro and Sinohydro. Three contractors come from high-income nations, while the rest are from low- and middle-income countries. Three are state-owned Chinese enterprises: Power Construction Corporation of China, or POWERCHINA; Sinohydro; and Harbin Electric Corp. Two of the top organizations are pharmaceutical companies contracted for COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer Export BV and Moderna Switzerland. Overall, the top 10 organizations received $3.5 billion, or 19.6% of the total contract awards. Among public sector recipients, Vietnam General Department of Land Administration was the top recipient, with $296.6 million. Several United Nations agencies were also among the top contractors, including the U.N. Office for Project Services, with $186.8 million; the World Food Programme, with $153.7 million; UNICEF, with $99.8 million; the U.N. Development Programme, with $77.7 million; and the U.N. Population Fund, with $65.3 million. Here are the World Bank’s top 10 private contractors in 2021: 1. Eletro Hidro Founded: 1998 Location: Palmas, Brazil Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: Six Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $1.04 billion Eletro Hidro ranked first among the contractors, accounting for 5.9% of World Bank’s total contract spending in 2021. The Brazilian construction company received $1.04 billion under the Tocantins Integrated Sustainable Regional Development Project for the construction of roads, highways, and bridges in Brazil. The project aims to improve transportation and public services in the country. 2. POWERCHINA Founded: 2011 Location: Beijing, China Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: One Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $368.9 million POWERCHINA is a state-owned company that offers a wide range of consulting services and civil works related to energy and infrastructure. It received $368.9 million for the construction of infrastructure for a hydroelectric power plant in Pakistan. The contract is a component of the Tarbela Fourth Extension Hydropower Project. 3. Moderna Switzerland Founded: 2020 Location: Basel, Switzerland Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: One Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $352.8 million Moderna’s hub in Switzerland received $352.8 million for the procurement of vaccines, to be delivered to the Philippines as part of World Bank’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project. 4. Larsen & Toubro Founded: 1938 Location: Mumbai, India Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: Nine Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $342.4 million Larsen & Toubro received $342.4 million for nine contracts under three different projects in India: $200.3 million for electrification, signaling, and telecommunications; $105.5 million to design, build, and operate a water treatment plant; and $36.6 million to supply and install a high-voltage distribution system. The Indian company — specializing in engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as high-tech manufacturing and services — was the bank’s second-biggest contractor in 2020 but dropped to fourth place in 2021. Its contracts were worth $34.5 million less in 2021 compared with the year before. 5. STEG-IS, SACEM Industries, and MSGI Founded: 2006, 1966, and 1985 Location: Tunis, Tunisia Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: One Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $288.6 million A consortium of STEG International Services, SACEM Industries, and Mellouli Steel & Galvanizing Industries — all based in Tunis, Tunisia — received $288.6 million for the electrification of villages in Guinea-Bissau. The contract is part of the ECOWAS-Regional Electricity Access Project, which aims to increase access to electricity in western Africa. 6. Pfizer Export BV Founded: 2010 Location: Capelle aan den IJssel, Netherlands Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: Four Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $284.6 million Pfizer’s office in the Netherlands won $284.4 million for the procurement of vaccines for Georgia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine. 7. Sinohydro Founded: 1950 Location: Beijing, China Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: 11 Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $208.8 million Sinohydro is POWERCHINA’s flagship company, with operations in dozens of countries. The company works in the hydroelectric and construction sectors. At $35.4 million, the largest share of its contract awards went toward the supply and installation of cables and lines as part of the Electricity Access & Services Expansion project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rest, worth $173.4 million, went to construction and road repair works in Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia, Guinea, and Mozambique. Down $126.2 million from 2020, the company fell four notches in the 2021 ranking. 8. Harbin Electric Corp. Founded: 1994 Location: Harbin, China Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: One Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $210.2 million Another state-owned enterprise, HE manufactures power generation equipment. It received $210.2 million for electro-mechanical equipment, as part of the Tarbela Fourth Extension Hydropower Project in Pakistan. 9. ACE Consulting Engineers Founded: 1950 Location: Cairo, Egypt Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: One Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $196.7 million Under the Rwanda Urban Development Project, ACE was awarded $196.7 million for community facilitation, planning, design, contract packaging, and bidding for infrastructure upgrading in settlements in Kigali, Rwanda. The consulting company works in the fields of planning, design, project management, and construction supervision. 10. Prysmian Group Founded: 2011 Location: Milan, Italy Number of contracts in fiscal 2021: Two Total contract amount in fiscal 2021: $168.1 million Prysmian Group won two contracts in Turkey: $100 million for supply of submarine power cables in the Gulf of Izmit and $68.1 million for supply of submarine power cables in the Dardanelles. The Italian company specializes in electrical cable production. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.