According to Hong Zhang, an assistant professor of international studies at Indiana University Bloomington, this diversification was not a sudden “shift” but rather showed how emerging players were filling gaps as Western presence receded.

“The numerical presence of Chinese companies in Africa makes it inevitable that multiple of them show up in many tenders,” she noted.

Zhang said European and American firms had moved to the higher-value-added segments of consultancy. “In fact, they dominate these segments, a goal that Chinese firms aspire to as they struggle to compete in less profitable segments of construction.”

W. Gyude Moore, a distinguished fellow at the Energy for Growth Hub, noted that the competitive advantage of these nations often boiled down to structural costs. China remains a capital-surplus country where the cost of expertise is lower than in Europe or the United States.

“This tracks with what we have seen in the global economy where China runs a surplus in goods and the US runs a surplus in services,” Moore said.

However, China is not without competition in Africa, most notably from companies based in Turkey and the Gulf states.

For instance, Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi has built sections of railway in Tanzania, connecting the metropolis of Dar es Salaam to the capital Dodoma.

In Uganda, Yapi Merkezi was appointed as the primary contractor for the Standard Gauge Railway between the Kenyan border city of Malaba and Ugandan capital Kampala, after the government cancelled its deal with China Harbour Engineering due to persistent delays in financing.

Turkey competed effectively on labour costs while successfully closing the gap on capital, while the United Arab Emirates used its financial strength to lower the cost of capital as it recruited top talent to address labour requirements, Moore said.

Dubai-based DP World manages and modernises container terminals across Africa through long-term concessions. Key projects include transforming the Port of Berbera in Somaliland into a regional logistics gateway and developing the Ndayane Port in Senegal, a major deep-sea facility. The firm is also investing in the Port of Maputo in Mozambique to deepen berths for larger ships.

Jing Gu, director of the Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development at the Institute of Development Studies, said the rise of Turkey, the UAE, and other emerging players was significant.

They often brought a different mix of capital, logistics, port management, aviation, construction, diplomacy and risk appetite. “This means African infrastructure markets are now more multipolar,” Gu said.

Satchu said both Turkey and the UAE had a very defined Africa strategy.

“Turkey has been a geoeconomic player on the continent for a while and is leveraging that positioning to good effect,” Satchu said, adding that the UAE had long been focused on ports across the continent.

“In both instances, these countries are aggressive where the infrastructure opportunity dovetails with their Africa strategy.”

This regional strategy is further reinforced by state-backed support. Zhang said that the countries had long provided aid and financing to regions with which they had close trading or cultural ties, such as North Africa.

“Turkish firms have been very competitive in Africa, especially northern Africa, due to cultural proximity,” Zhang added. “It is not surprising that they continue to be active in Africa … but it may become more visible when the Western presence recedes.”

Gu said the old picture of “China versus the West” was too simple.

“In many sectors, the real competition is between Chinese firms, Gulf capital, Turkish contractors, Indian conglomerates, African pension and sovereign funds, and multilateral or development finance institutions.”