The ACL Review – Africa Construction Law

The Africa Construction Law Review

Africa Construction Law Review is a research-based resource that:

assesses the level of development of construction law and practice in individual African jurisdictions;
provides practitioners and academics with information about the divergent construction legal frameworks and practices in Africa; and
identifies best practices within the continent.

The Review considers construction and infrastructure issues that commonly arise in Africa, including matters regarding the procurement process, forms of contracting, the respective obligations of employer and contractor, specific aspects of contractual performance and dispute resolution and avoidance practices in Africa. Investors seeking opportunities within specific African markets will have access to the Review, thereby, encouraging foreign and intra-Africa trade and investment in the continent.

EDITOR’S PREFACE

I am very pleased to have participated in the preparation of the First Edition of The Africa Construction Law Review. The Africa Construction Law Review is designed to be a practical, introduction to and analysis of the prinicples of construction law and practice pertaining to specific jurisdictions within Africa. This book gathers the views of leading construction law practitioners from around the world with experience of working within Africa. I thank all the authors for their work and insights. We are very proud that all chapters are authored by practising lawyers within the corresponding jurisidction.

The first chapter from the Africa Construction Law Review to be made available deals with construction law and practice in Kenya. As more chapters are released you will see that they are laid out consistently for ease of comparison. Each author had full discretion as to the content of their response to the questionnaire provided.

Special thanks goes to the European Society of Construction Law for allowing Africa Construction Law use of the ECSL questionnaire for this purpose.

In addition to our notable authors, the success of the Africa Construction Review is due in large part to the dedication of the Africa Construction Law Advisory Board whose members were invited because they hold significant expertise in construction law and experience in relation to projects in Africa. For the past three years, members of the Africa Construction Law Advisory Board and Sub-regional Co-ordination team have contributed as guest editors and enriched the Africa Construction Law Review immensely. My thanks goes to Mr Abdul-Lateef Jinadu (Keating Chambers), Mr Henry Musonda (Kiran & Musonda Associates) Mr James
Doe (Herbert Smith Freehills), Mr Sena Gbedemah (Ankura), Mr David Ofosu-Dorte (AB & David Africa), Prof Renato Nazzini (LMS Legal LLP & King’s College London) Ms Ilham Kabbouri (Vinson & Elkins LLP) and Sadaff Habib (Equanimity Arbitration).

The global construction sector continues to face challenging and uncertain times. The current global economic downturn exasperates an already bleak picture for the construction industry – i.e. high material and labour costs, labour shortages and increasing insurance costs. Nonetheless, we know that construction and infrastructure in Africa is critical to sustain a rapidly growing population and contribute to economic growth.

Africa Construction Law is therefore pleased to play a part in raising awareness of the nuances and differences in the application of construction law throughout Africa. As you use this book you will find more chapters (to be released on a periodic basis) on African jurisdictions of specific interest to you, and I along with the rest of the Africa Construction Law board of directors hope that you will find this book insightful. For their support along this journey to production of the First Edition, I would like to thank my fellow directors Dr. Ademola Bamgose (Hogan Lovells), Ms Adeola Agunbiade-Adeyemi (Banwo & Ighodalo), Ms Michelle Porter-Wright (Allen & Overy) and Ms Sekai Nyambo.

Finally, special thanks also goes to Mr Ngo-Martins Okonmah, a truly remarkable individual, construction law practitioner and Partner at Aluko and Oybode, founder of Africa Construction Law, originator of Africa Construction Law Review and good friend.