«Back to Home
China has taken a different route to involvement in African aviation
The Conversation
01 Sep 2019, 22:33 GMT+10
China has been a latecomer to African aviation. Even though Ethiopian Airlines started flying to China in November 1973, there were few other air links between Africa and China for 30 years.
The involvement of former colonial powers such as the British, Dutch and French goes back to the 1920s; former Soviet bloc countries began to show interest during the height of the Cold War. And in the last 20 years, Persian Gulf petro-states and their airlines – Emirates, Qatar and Etihad – have become major offshore hubs for a huge range of commercial flights serving Africa.
In my recently published paper I track how China's involvement has been different.
Official data about the scale and pace of China's airport projects in Africa are hard to find. In the absence of primary sources, journalistic reporting on current affairs and public projects is the main source of information. These sources can be at variance. And keeping up with developments is evidently difficult.
Despite the absence of accurate, clear and consistent information, the picture that emerged during my research shows considerable Chinese activity directed at modernising, extending and building new airports in Africa. The grandest projects are in resource-rich countries.
China's approach
None of China's biggest three airlines (Air China, China Southern, China Eastern) are prominent in African skies.
It is on the ground that China has been flexing its aviation muscles in Africa. This is consistent with China's 50-or-so years of infrastructure funding and construction on the continent. Energy, water, road and rail infrastructure projects have been the major spheres of Chinese offshore investment in Africa.
Civil airports there have been a recent addition. China's experience of planning, funding, constructing and managing airports at home stands it in good stead.
Two 2017 reports noted between US$27 billion and US$38 billion currently being spent on or earmarked for spending on 77 construction and associated hardware projects at airports in Africa. China was named in relation to Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia. The average price for all projects was US$440 million.
At a rough estimate, China accounted for between a quarter and a third of this total airport spending. Excluding unknown expenditure in Ghana, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it spent some US$5.7 billion on these airport projects: US$3.8 billion on a new airport outside Luanda (Angola), US$615 million in Maputo, US$360 million in Zambia, US$345 million at Addis Ababa, US$260 million in Mauritius, US$190 million in Sierra Leone, and US$136 million in Mauritania.
Funds from China's Exim Bank or other agencies are expected to help build a new US$3 billion airport outside Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and a new US$1.4 billion airport outside Khartoum in Sudan.
The Chinese investment model involves loans and grants, but also, it would seem, part-exchange deals over oil and minerals. These arrangements have more of a resources-for-infrastructure or barter quality.
At the same time Turkish, French, Italian and British contractors have been bidding for airport improvement projects in Africa, and for terminal or runway new-build schemes. These, it would appear, are at a lesser scale, and have greater transparency.
What's next
China's approach may change in the future. That's if it can neutralise the pivot of Persian Gulf airports at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. And if it can out-manoeuvre their airlines in global long-haul markets.
It may be more likely that China's penetration of African civil aviation will occur via partnerships with African airlines, and taking equity shares.
Some of this has already happened. For example, the Hainan corporation in China has reportedly made forays into airlines in Ghana and South Africa, and into a Kenyan all-freight carrier.
Sales to Africa of Chinese-manufactured aircraft have also started. Attendant spare parts stocks are being pre-positioned. In addition, there are plans for Chinese-led aviation technical and managerial training schools in Africa. These will reduce risk of wasted physical infrastructure and of any associated reputational damage.
Some African countries are gearing airport capacity planning to a predicted 5% annual growth in continental passenger numbers by 2035. By that time Africa is expected to be home to eight of the world's 10 fastest-growing aviation markets. Most African countries don't have the capacity to prepare for this and will need overseas funds and engineering expertise.
But there are concerns. Any arguments against rampant airport investment in Africa could begin with familiar worries about cost overruns in mega-infrastructure projects, the long-term burden of loan repayments (or default loss of control to foreign owners), the unaffordability of unanticipated maintenance charges, and the inappropriateness of prestige and political vanity projects.
Concerns about corruption, due diligence, accountability, social and environmental disruption plague transport projects wherever they occur.
Another argument against airport mania in Africa – including one that may be levelled against the seductively shiny steel-and-glass 'aerotropolises' touted in Nigeria and South Africa – is that these opportunist projects are firmly nation- or city-led (indeed, even regime-led). As such, they don't necessarily fit into any long-term regional or pan-African programme of integrated infrastructure development.
At a time of chronic resource shortages and stress this is irresponsible. What can be accomplished technically is not always what should be done. There have always been white elephants and rogue elephants in Africa.
The economic and political geography of China's airport consulting, financing, construction, and management programme in Africa is only now beginning to surface. In future, better statistical information, and richer local information will make for better analysis.
Author: Gordon Pirie – Honorary Research Associate, University of Cape Town
More Shanghai News
Access More
Stock market closed on account of Ganesh Chaturthi
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong protests: Police arrest 63 people
Shanghai News.Net
New US, China Tariffs Take Effect on Each Other's Exports
Shanghai News.Net
India condemns forced conversion of two Sikh girls in Pakistan
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong Protesters Target Airport Sunday
Shanghai News.Net
Violent Hong Kong Protests Meet Violent Police Response
Shanghai News.Net
Police storm MTR train in Hong Kong as protests rage
Shanghai News.Net
This Time, Trump's Tariffs Will Hit US Consumers
Shanghai News.Net
Samsung Galaxy Fold to finally arrive on September 6: Report
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong Christians Call for Reform
Shanghai News.Net
Washington Names Matthew Palmer As Special Envoy To Western Balkans
Shanghai News.Net
Dalbir Kaur condemns Imran Khan over silence on Sikh girl incident
Shanghai News.Net
Economic pessimism grows among Democrats, GOP
Shanghai News.Net
Five Years After Beijing Ruled Out Democracy, Hong Kong is Aflame
Shanghai News.Net
China has taken a different route to involvement in African aviation
Shanghai News.Net
US Farmers Push for United States, Canada, Mexico Trade Agreement
Shanghai News.Net
Factbox: Next Trump Tariffs on Chinese Goods to Hit Consumers
Shanghai News.Net
Tibetans hold protest in Dharamshala in solidarity with Hong Kong
Shanghai News.Net
Emerging markets rarely this bad in August
Shanghai News.Net
Gay dating app plans listing at $1bn value
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong protesters march despite police ban
Shanghai News.Net
Sign up for Shanghai News
a daily newsletter full of things to discuss over drinks.and the great thing is that it's on the house!
All Shanghai News Headlines
Manufacturing, exports, employment in China decline in August
Lola Evans
R349m 'stolen? from pensioners in four days
Shanghai News.Net
Barty toasts 'hell of a year' after US Open exit
Shanghai News.Net
In EscalatingTrade war, US Consumers May See Higher Prices
Shanghai News.Net
US Stock Futures Fall as New Tariffs Darken Global Outlook
Shanghai News.Net
Stock market closed on account of Ganesh Chaturthi
Shanghai News.Net
Dalbir Kaur condemns Imran Khan over silence on Sikh girl incident
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong protests: Police arrest 63 people
Shanghai News.Net
Economic pessimism grows among Democrats, GOP
Shanghai News.Net
New US, China Tariffs Take Effect on Each Other's Exports
Shanghai News.Net
Five Years After Beijing Ruled Out Democracy, Hong Kong is Aflame
Shanghai News.Net
India condemns forced conversion of two Sikh girls in Pakistan
Shanghai News.Net
China has taken a different route to involvement in African aviation
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong Protesters Target Airport Sunday
Shanghai News.Net
US Farmers Push for United States, Canada, Mexico Trade Agreement
Shanghai News.Net
Violent Hong Kong Protests Meet Violent Police Response
Shanghai News.Net
Factbox: Next Trump Tariffs on Chinese Goods to Hit Consumers
Shanghai News.Net
Police storm MTR train in Hong Kong as protests rage
Shanghai News.Net
Tibetans hold protest in Dharamshala in solidarity with Hong Kong
Shanghai News.Net
This Time, Trump's Tariffs Will Hit US Consumers
Shanghai News.Net
Emerging markets rarely this bad in August
Shanghai News.Net
Samsung Galaxy Fold to finally arrive on September 6: Report
Shanghai News.Net
Gay dating app plans listing at $1bn value
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong Christians Call for Reform
Shanghai News.Net
Hong Kong protesters march despite police ban
Shanghai News.Net
Washington Names Matthew Palmer As Special Envoy To Western Balkans
Shanghai News.Net
UN Atomic Watchdog: Iran Still in Violation of Nuclear Deal
Shanghai News.Net
Tesla raises prices in China as trade tensions weigh on yuan
Shanghai News.Net
Del Potro targets October return from knee injury
Shanghai News.Net
At G-7, Trump Dumps Climate But Agrees on Gender, Africa
Shanghai News.Net
China News
Manufacturing, exports, employment in China decline in August
Lola Evans
R349m 'stolen? from pensioners in four days
Shanghai News.Net
Serena 'fine' after ankle scare at US Open
Shanghai News.Net
In EscalatingTrade war, US Consumers May See Higher Prices
Shanghai News.Net
US Stock Futures Fall as New Tariffs Darken Global Outlook
Shanghai News.Net
Stock market closed on account of Ganesh Chaturthi
Shanghai News.Net
Access More
New Releases
Shanghai News.Net's News Release Publishing Service provides a medium for circulating your organization's news.
Facebook Feed
International News
'Patsy' for Robert Kennedy assassination survives stabbing
Jay Jackson
Second shooting rampage to hit Texas this month
Jay Jackson
Trump targets foreign children and people with disabilities
Human Rights Watch
9 year girl in Uganda diagnosed with Ebola, has died
UN news
Man who falsely accused priests of abuse got $5 million payout
Ralph Cipriano – Big Trial
10 million people in Yemen a step away from famine
UN news
Tesla batteries are keeping Zimbabwe's economy running
Shanghai News.Net
Barty toasts 'hell of a year' after US Open exit
Shanghai News.Net
Coco takes doubles win after tearful US Open singles exit
Shanghai News.Net
Djokovic says 'life goes on' as injury wrecks US Open defence
Shanghai News.Net
Access More