Why are construction projects in sub-Saharan Africa struggling to meet deadlines?

Every construction project in GlobalData's database is assigned a score of between 5 and -5 based on its current progress, a score that is continually updated over time. These are then weighted by the value of each project in order to arrive at overall scores for countries, regions and sectors.

That score puts sub-Saharan Africa in tenth place out of 11 regions, and is an increase on its score from December 2021 (0.07) when it ranked in 11th place.

One reason for sub-Saharan Africa's relatively poor performance in the index is its commercial and leisure sector, which scores just -0.16, putting it at 11th place out of 11 regions worldwide.

Sub-Saharan Africa's residential sector, by contrast, has performed somewhat better, with a score of 0.6 (putting it in fifth place globally).

Within sub-Saharan Africa, the problems in the construction sector are most significant in Ethiopia, which scores just -0.01 in the index. The situation in South Africa, however, is somewhat better with a score of 0.61.

The improving health of the construction pipeline in sub-Saharan Africa is partly due to the resolution of issues in the region's institutional sector, which has seen its score on GlobalData's Construction Project Momentum Index move from -0.07 in December 2021 to 0.32 in January 2022.

The construction sector is also seeing fewer and fewer problems in South Africa, which has seen its score on the index go from -0.06 in December 2021 to 0.61 in January 2022.