Chinese-built infrastructure projects play role in Africa's real estate sector: experts

NAIROBI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese contractors and their infrastructure projects are playing a role in the growth of Africa's real estate sector, experts said on Thursday.

Boniface Abudho, a research analyst at the global property consultancy Knight Frank, told Xinhua in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that road and rail infrastructure projects undertaken by Chinese contractors have opened up areas and enabled commuters to move away from congested urban centers and settle in adjacent satellite towns.

"Infrastructure has enabled the growth of the property sector in Africa as areas that were once considered distant are now easily accessible," Abudho said on the sidelines of the launch of the residential property outlook in the Kenyan and pan-African sectors.

He said Chinese contractors have also engaged in large housing projects which benefit from economies of scale, resulting in affordable shelters for tenants.

Charles Mwangi, a senior researcher at Knight Frank, said Chinese contractors have rolled out several affordable housing projects that will help the country bridge its housing deficit by expanding the supply of decent houses.

Mwangi observed that the Chinese-built Nairobi-based Global Trade Center commercial and resident complex has also raised the standards of Kenya's real estate sector.

He revealed that the 27.1-km Nairobi Expressway, built by a Chinese firm under a public-private partnership model, has also catalyzed the growth of Kenya's real estate sector.

"The land and property values along the corridor of the expressway have appreciated because it has connected the eastern and western sections of Nairobi," he added.