Middle East and Africa Repair and Rehabilitation Market Trends

Market Trends of Middle East and Africa Repair and Rehabilitation Industry

Rising Infrastructure Repair and Rehabilitation Across the Region

• Growing population and urbanization across the region has prompted the government of major economies to revisit their approach to sustaining present municipal and national infrastructure. Rising investments in such rehabilitation projects are an indicator of the government taking due cognizance of the need for better and sustainable infrastructure for both social and economic development.
• For instance, in 2022, after receiving funding of USD 22.74 million from ZimFund, phase II of the ZimFund Emergency Power Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project (EPIRP II) reached its last leg of implementation, delivering a 175 MVA transformer to the population in the Midlands, Mashonaland East and West provinces of Zimbabwe.
• Similarly, in Egypt, the Railway Improvement and Safety for Egypt project undertaken by the Ministry of Transport and Egyptian National Railways is expected to see completion by late 2027, standing at a valuation of USD 440 million. The project aims to substantially improve the safety and service quality of railway services along the Alexandria-Cairo-Nag Hammadi corridor.
• Some of the places and monuments of historical heritage and religious importance are also being considered in the repair and rehabilitation agenda across the region. For instance, in January 2022, the Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council approved the 'Rehabilitation and Revitalisation of Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood Strategy' in a bid to revive the Al Fahidi historical area in Dubai.
• Various repair and rehabilitation projects across the region are also being undertaken by global entities. One such project titled 'Beirut Housing Rehabilitation and Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) Recovery Project' is being undertaken by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), with approval for the project being granted in February 2022.
• The two-pronged project undertaken by UN-Habitat intends to provide rehabilitation for housing of historical significance while also providing emergency support to creative entities in the cultural sector in and around the explosion areas in Beirut. With a total valuation of USD 12.75 million, the first part of the project, housing recovery, may consist of residential housing rehabilitation followed by providing the technical assistance required for rental support.
• The growing focus on infrastructure development may play a vital role in inviting higher investments into the infrastructure construction sector, thereby driving demand for repair and rehabilitation activities across the region.

South Africa to Lead Market

• The National Treasury of South Africa has acknowledged the risks presented to the country with the impending climate change and is duly working with its partners to mitigate these risks by ensuring the municipal and national infrastructures are climate-resilient through repair and rehabilitation projects.
• In June 2022, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government announced a multimillion project valued at ZAR 500 million (USD 34.5 million) for the upgradation and rehabilitation of strategic roads which were damaged by the recent floods.
• The Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure has also announced National Infrastructure Plan 2050 in order to help attain the country's long-term social and economic goals. An estimated ZAR 6 trillion (USD 414 billion) is required to deliver infrastructure in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) objectives.
• A few infrastructure rehabilitation projects are already underway. For instance, the Smart Harbours Programme is one such project which is aimed at revitalizing harbors in the Western Cape and developing new harbors in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. While the new harbors are in the building stage, the repair and maintenance work is expected to be completed by 2022.
• Other parts of the National Infrastructure Plan 2050 include the rehabilitation of existing water, energy, and ecological infrastructure, along with the rehabilitation of major rail corridors. For instance, the North-South Rail Corridor infrastructure and logistics study is expected to focus on the rehabilitation and upgradation of the rail corridor with the support of financing from the SADC Infrastructure Project Preparation Fund.
• Therefore, with active investment and initiation from the government, the repair and rehabilitation market across South Africa shows great potential for growth during the forecast period.