How construction companies in Ethiopia benefited from economic growth
Over the past 20 years, construction companies in Ethiopia have been able to benefit from favourable macroeconomic conditions. Despite its challenges, Ethiopia has over the past 20 years been one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
In 2024, the IMF expects Ethiopia’s GDP to expand by 6.2%, accelerating to an estimated 7% per year by 2029. In absolute terms, Ethiopia’s numbers are mind-blowing. In 2004, the country started its expansion course with a very modest GDP (current USD) of $12 billion. In 2024, total GDP has multiplied by a factor of 17 to reach $205 billion. Until 2029, the IMF projects GDP to reach $364 billion.
While population growth accounted for some of these increases, the total population “only” went from 75 million in 2004 to 133 million in 2024. This is historically an impressive rate of expansion, but Ethiopia has still benefited from enormous per capita economic gains.
GDP per capita grew from $152 in 2004 to $1,910 in 2024. Ethiopia is still a poor country on a per capita basis, but the speed of progress is creating enormous opportunities.
For construction companies in Ethiopia, these improvements meant new roads, buildings, power plants, and other structures to be built. In this article, we will have a look at the construction industry in Ethiopia at large, and its currently largest players.
The current state of the construction industry in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the third largest construction project market in East Africa, behind Kenya and Tanzania. There are 145 ongoing and upcoming projects in the country, worth a combined $113 billion.
70% of them are under construction, while 30% are in different planning stages. This pipeline is partially the product of recent challenges in the country, as other East African countries have relatively more projects in earlier stages (the regional average stands at approximately 40%).
Ethiopian construction projects are largely concentrated in the areas of building construction, power/electricity, and transport infrastructure. The largest project in the building construction space is the country’s $50 billion national housing project. The famous Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), as well as a nuclear power plant in the feasibility stage, are some of the largest power projects. In the transport sector, the country is developing another rail line to neighbouring Djibouti. To expand its role in global air traffic, the Bishoftu Airport project aims to build the region’s largest airport for about 100 million passengers per year.
Leading construction companies
Behind these projects are a long range of contractors. The following six are the ones working on the highest number and value of projects, making them some of the most significant players in the construction industry in Ethiopia.
Top 3 construction companies in Ethiopia by project value
Ovid construction
Ovid Construction is part of the Ovid Group. It is mainly focused on the building construction space, where it is currently working on Ethiopia’s massive $50 billion National Housing Project, as well as some prestige buildings such as the National Theatre.
GIFT Real Estate
GIFT Real Estate is part of the GIFT Business Group. Founded in 2005, the company is focused mostly on the building construction segment and projects such as houses, apartment buildings, and villas. Most importantly, it is also awarded parts of Ethiopia’s National Housing project.
Webuild Ethiopia
Webuild is an Italian EPC contractor. Its Ethiopian subsidiary has been in charge of building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is meanwhile nearly completed. Additionally, it has been awarded the contract to build the 2,200 MW Koysha Hydropower Plant.
Top 3 construction companies in Ethiopia by count of large projects
CCECC Ethiopia
The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is one of the major Chinese contractors in Africa. Its Ethiopian subsidiary, CCECC Ethiopia, is working on several projects in the country, such as the Africa CDC Regional Head office, the Addis Ababa Business Complex, and the Ethiopian Airlines headquarters.
Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation
The Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation is a government-owned enterprise under the Ethiopia Ministry of Urban Development and Construction. It is mostly focused on large road projects, but has also been awarded the Chaka Project, which includes the construction of a palace, luxury hotel, and other facilities.
Sunshine Construction
Sunshine Construction is part of Sunshine Group, an Ethiopian conglomerate active in the construction and trading sectors. It is focusing mostly on road projects and has been awarded the Debre Lemi and Jihur Deneba Road and the Degolo Kelela Road Upgrade. However, one of its largest projects is the Ethiopian Airlines Employees Accommodation project worth $500 million.
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Image source: DaneyWiki, Wikimedia Commons
