Africa Infrastructure Brief
Owner-side intelligence on the African infrastructure projects actually getting built
Why this brief exists
I’ve developed projects in Africa, and I still get texts from family when the power goes out for days and half a month’s salary spoils in a fridge. That is not a footnote. That is the point.
Africa Infrastructure Brief examines projects from the owner’s side: the capital, risk allocation and delivery decisions behind the headlines. Because the projects that get built change daily life. Those that stall leave familiar problems unresolved.
Every Sunday, one deal-driven issue brings real numbers, practical analysis and frameworks for understanding what it takes to turn investment into operating infrastructure. Written by Magnus, an infrastructure project leader with 20 years of experience across energy, marine and industrial projects in Africa and North America.
Africa Infrastructure Brief
20+ YEARS ON THE OWNER SIDE
1999
Started in the yard.
Field engineering with Chantier Naval Industriel du Cameroon - dry dock operations, ship repair, industrial. Received vessel drawings weeks in advance and laid out the attinage - the framing that held ships and oil rigs above the dock floor. Learned that drawings are the beginning of the argument, not the end.
2012
Moved to the owner's chair.
Joined a US midstream operator. Tank farms, complex piping manifolds, pipelines, LPG spheres, marine terminals, rail and truck racks. Over a decade of project development and execution - ROM estimates, constructability reviews, managing large project teams, commissioning and start-up, and executive briefings across every stage of the project lifecycle.
2024
Started tracking Africa.
Watched too many African infrastructure projects announced with fanfare, then stall, then quietly die. Started building an owner-side view of what’s real, what’s funded, and what’s actually breaking ground.
Today
The brief you are reading now.
Every Sunday: financing structures, constructability risk, delivery signals. For developers, DFI analysts, EPC leads, and diaspora investors.