Who were AfDB's top contractors in 2016?

The African Development Bank Group held its 2017 annual meetings this past week in Ahmedabad, India, and the discussions and debates touched on a wide variety of challenges and opportunities facing the African continent. Representatives from the AfDB’s 54 in-region member states and 27 out-of-region states participated, including partners and implementers from government, business, civil society, academia and the media. In light of the occasion, Devex analyzed contract award data from AfDB for the year 2016 to determine which organizations were the top contractors for the multilateral bank. According to data from AfDB, over $1.7 billion were awarded to 1,666 contractors in 2016, covering 2,118 individual contracts. The contractors included private firms, public entities, NGOs and individuals. Of the total amount, 72 percent ($1.23 billion) went to works contracts — that is, contracts for civil engineering construction projects — in the sectors of transport ($669 million), power ($210 million), and agriculture ($177 million), while $229 million and $226 million were services and goods awards, respectively. It is notable that a significant amount — $694 million — went to Africa-based contractors. However, this figure may be a little misleading because, in instances where out-of-region firms bid through African subsidiaries, the African origin of the subsidiary is listed as the bidder’s nationality. The top 10 contractors for 2016 accounted for $633 million in awards, or 37 percent of the total. Most of that — $568 million — went to works. Nearly half of the awards to the top 10 firms went to five Chinese construction firms. No African firm appeared in the top 10 independently, although two Moroccan firms appear in consortium. In first place was a consortium of three civil engineering firms: The Turkish conglomerate STFA, Moroccan firm Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc, or SGTM, and Luxembourgian dredging and reclamation firm Jan de Nul N.V. This group of firms won a construction award as part of the Port Nador West project, which will see a port complex built in the Moroccan city of Nador. At $119.4 million, this was the largest single contract AfDB awarded in 2016. It was also the only contract won by this consortium, but significant enough to cement their place at the top of the list. Another consortium — between French construction firm Colas and their Moroccan, railways-focused subsidiary, Colas Rail Maroc — landed in eighth place. The fraternal firms won a contract as part of the project to reinforce railway infrastructure between the Moroccan cities of Marrakesh and Casablanca. China’s rising role in the world of development is particularly notable in AfDB’s 2016 contract awards data. Of the $1.7 billion awarded, $374 million — 22 percent — went to Chinese contractors. This figure is likely understated, as in some cases Chinese firms bid for and won contracts through Africa-based subsidiaries. This concentration is more exaggerated in the top 10 list, where Chinese firms occupy the second, third, fourth, fifth and 10th positions. All five of these firms are construction and engineering contractors, and all of the 15 contracts they won were physical works projects, such as this road construction contract between Mombasa and Mariakani, a portion of which was awarded to China Construction 3rd Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd, the fourth place firm. The other contractors in the top 10 list are more diverse in their national origins. Third place went to a single Danish contractor, Burmeister and Wan Scandanavian Contractor, for a single contract of $104 million to redevelop a power plant in St. Louis, Mauritius. Seventh place went to MOTA-Engil, a Portuguese construction firm, for a $41 million contract for the rehabilitation of a road between Malawi and Mozambique. Ninth place went to AECOM for two consulting services contracts worth $33 million dollars — one for the Gambia River Basin Energy Project, and one for a suburban / rural electrification project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Below, Devex lists AfDB’s top 10 contractors for 2016 in greater detail. For your own analysis, explore our interactive visualization of the AfDB 2016 contract awards data. 1. Consortium: Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc, STFA, and Jan de Nul N.V. Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $119,484,007 SGTM Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Casablanca, Morocco Founded: 1972 STFA Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Istanbul, Turkey Founded: 1938 Jan de Nul N.V. Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Duchy of Luxembourg Founded: 1938 2. Sinohydro Corporation Limited Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $108,008,849 Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Beijing, China Founded: 1955 Sinohydro is a Chinese-owned enterprise specializing in infrastructure construction and operation, particularly hydropower and water facilities. However, in 2016, they won several road construction contracts in Eastern and Central Africa that pushed them into second place. 3. Burmeister and Wain Scandanavian Contractors (BWSC) Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $103,840,680 Org Type: Works and Construction, Service Providers Headquarters: Lillerød, Denmark Founded: 1980 BWSC is a global turnkey contractor specialized in the construction and operation of medium to large-sized fossil-fuel power plants. They also work on selected renewable energy and waste-to-energy projects. 4. China Geo-engineering Corporation Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $90,497,382 Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Beijing, China Founded: 1982 CGC is a state-owned engineering contractor operating in Asia and Africa, offering construction services for industrial, energy, transport and municipal works. The firm won several contracts with AfDB in 2016, including a contract as part of a water supply system rehabilitation project in Zimbabwe, as well as two smaller contracts in a Mali-based agricultural development project. 5. China State Construction Engineering 3rd Bureau Company, Limited Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $57,182,644 Org Type: Works and Construction, Service Providers Headquarters: Wuhan, China Founded: 1965 This is one of eight bureaux under the Chinese state-owned construction company, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited. It is not the only subsidiary of the organization active in Africa, but it was the most successful in 2016, winning a lucrative award for highway construction between Mombasa and Mariakani in Kenya. 6. China Henan International Cooperation Group Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $42,905,316 Org Type: Development Consulting, Works and Construction Headquarters: Zhengzhou, China Founded: 1983 CHICO is a Chinese provincial international development agency. Owned by the government of the Chinese province of Henan, its capabilities include construction and engineering projects, development consulting, agricultural development and mineral resource development, among others. It joins the list on the back of two contracts from larger programs: A $7.9 million contract to rehabilitate a water treatment plant in Liberia, and a small contract as part of a road construction project in Rwanda. 7. MOTA-Engil Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $40,903,824 Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Porto, Portugal Founded: 1946 MOTA-Engil is a Portuguese multinational with operations focused on construction and infrastructure management in the sectors of engineering, environmental construction, transport concessions, energy and mining. It has had past success with AfDB, and joins the 2016 top 10 list thanks to a single large contract for road construction as part of the bigger Nacala Road Corridor Project, Part IV in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. 8. Consortium: Colas and subsidiary Colas Rail Maroc Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $39,031,583 Org Type: Works and Construction Headquarters: Paris, France Founded: 1929 Colas and its subsidiary, Colas Rail Maroc, are transport infrastructure contractors. Colas Rail Maroc is more specialized in railway infrastructure, and locally established in Morocco — where they won two large AfDB contracts within an infrastructure rehabilitation program. 9. AECOM Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $33,053,688 Org Type: Development Consulting, Works and Construction Headquarters: Los Angeles, USA Founded: 1990 AECOM is a multinational development consulting firm and construction contractor. It is the only organization to make the top 10 without works contracts, winning two consulting services contracts instead. 10. China Bridge and Road Corporation Total 2016 AfDB Awards: $29,152,734 Org Type: Government, Works and Construction Headquarters: Beijing, China Founded: 1979 CBRC is a large, Chinese state-owned construction and engineering firm specialized in transportation infrastructure both domestically and internationally. They have made the top 10 list by winning a contract as part of a transport infrastructure program in Gabon and the DRC. You can also explore Devex’s Contract Awards and Shortlists data. Keep an eye out for further analysis of AfDB and African development trends coming soon! 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