The 5th Africa Construction Law Conference at the Emara Ole Sereni Hotel kicked off on Thursday. Hundreds of delegates convened to confront and discuss the emerging legal challenges facing the construction industry across the continent.

The two-day event will feature informative panels with experts drawn from different skill sets in the construction industry on various topics including how to tackle delayed payments and strategies on handling disputes between stakeholders.

The opening address by the founder and chairman of the conference, Ngo-Martins Okonmah — a partner at Aluko & Oyebode — noted that 90% of African infrastructure projects fail at the feasibility stage. This underscores the need for construction stakeholders to share information on the legal headwinds in the sector, with the aim of unveiling strategies to navigate them.

“It has been five years of collective efforts, growth and community. In 2021, we began this journey with a vision to promote development and dissemination of construction law knowledge across Africa, and to build a space for collaboration between professionals, practitioners, consultants, in-house counsels, financiers, regulators, and policy makers,” Ngo-Martins said.

Africa’s infrastructural demand in urban centers is expected to grow exponentially by 2050 as projected population will hit 1.5 billion people. However, 60 – 80% of the projects needed to handle this surge are yet to be constructed.

Ngo-Martins stated that the Africa Construction Law Conference has made strides to achieve projects’ implementation by training about 200 professionals on Construction Law. This is crucial as 50% of the investment pipeline in Africa consists of construction-related activities.

According to Former Attorney General Githu Muigai, construction projects in Africa should conform to sustainable and quality metrics that can only be grounded by legal frameworks based on the principles of integration, innovation, and inclusivity.

The first panel, moderated by a London barrister — Abdul Jinadu — zeroed in on systemic late payments plaguing the construction industry across Africa, where contractors face average delays exceeding 180 days, crippling cash flow and eroding operational capacity.

The session explored potential remedies including project bank accounts, payment security instruments, and legislative reforms. Experts unpacked the scale of the crisis through data-driven presentations, offered a structured framework of solutions, and examined real-world case studies to chart a path forward.

Shiv Arora, a prominent figure in Kenya’s development sector, highlighted a cascade of systemic issues hampering the country’s construction industry. Many developers bypass feasibility studies and fail to plan cash flows effectively, leading to stalled projects and financial strain.

“The late payment crisis in Africa is the structural issue around the lack of institutionalisation of construction contracts. In Kenya, this ultimately leads to different challenges like lack of feasibility studies and cash flow planning,” Shiv Arora, who is the CEO of Superior Homes, said.

On the contractors’ side, informal practices dominate, further compounding risks. Infrastructure development often lags behind service delivery needs, and with no standardized mechanisms to assess the quality of work, delays and payment disputes have become rampant.

The panel also analyzed other challenges like inconsistent funding throughout project lifecycles, inadequate payment security mechanisms, and the absence of robust legal frameworks to enforce timely contractor payments. The issue is further compounded by frequent regime changes that often lead to policy shifts and the abandonment of inherited infrastructure initiatives, further eroding investor confidence and public project continuity.

Another panel led by a Lisbon-based partner — Joana Brandão — unpacked why nearly 90% of African infrastructure projects stall at the feasibility stage. The discussion zeroed in on practical strategies to boost project bankability, with emphasis on thorough preparation, effective risk allocation, and sound financial structuring.

“There is an infrastructure paradox in Africa. Despite available funds, large pipeline and clear need, few projects reach financial close. There is an 80% drop off rate at planning stage,” Brandão said.

The panelists in this session agreed that financing infrastructure in Africa remains a high-risk endeavor. The proliferation of mistakes in the feasibility stage such as the imposition of incorrect business plans, unrealistic schedules, and insufficient accounts of costs undercuts risk-management strategies and prevents adequate investors.

The Conference will also tackle the challenges posed by currency volatility on construction projects, with panelists exploring hedging instruments, local currency financing, and contractual safeguards, while drawing lessons from recent monetary crises in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia. In a separate session, experts will examine why some states resist enforcing arbitration awards and propose strategies to boost compliance, backed by insights into global sovereign enforcement trends and jurisdictional practices.

The Conference will conclude on Friday evening with a Gala Dinner and an award ceremony, recognizing influential legal stakeholders in the construction industry.