Rising hostilities in the Middle East have pushed up the cost of bitumen—the key component of asphalt—affecting road construction across Africa, where domestic production is minimal. Higher prices and longer delivery times are forcing firms from Madagascar to Guinea and Cameroon to renegotiate contracts, absorb added expenses, and rethink supply strategies.
Madagascar, like many African nations, does not produce bitumen locally.
“We import the raw material that lets us make asphalt. Without bitumen, we cannot make tar,” said Richard Ferrazi, director of road‑building company Colas, to RFI.
Options are limited.
“There is an alternative, reinforced concrete, but we cannot afford it. For us, that is a luxury,” explained Dany Michael Ranivo, deputy general administrator of Inframad, which oversees construction sites in Madagascar.
Historically, most of Madagascar’s bitumen arrived from Gulf producers, shipped from Jebel Ali in Dubai through the Strait of Hormuz, with European supplies playing only a supporting role.
That pattern has now reversed. European bitumen has become the main source, but shipments now take an additional 45–60 days.
Supply shock
The shift in suppliers inevitably impacted work sites.
“The stoppage was sudden. It took time to adapt. We lost more than two months on some projects and are only now returning to normal,” Ferrazi said.
Two months later, bitumen prices in Madagascar are 40–50 percent higher, straining Inframad’s finances.
“It can delay the release of our bank guarantee or the allocation of resources we wanted to deploy on other projects,” Ranivo added.
In Guinea, the price of a tonne of bitumen has risen by roughly $200 over three months—a jump of more than 20 percent.
“Some contracts include a price‑adjustment mechanism that allows us to absorb these costs. Others do not, forcing us to cut margins or incur losses,” explained Mory Diaka Kaba, deputy director of Guinean roadworks firm Guiter.
In Cameroon, MAG—one of the country’s largest construction firms—is building the entrance to Douala under a contract worth 30 billion CFA francs.
Public procurement rules permit price revisions. “A request for a price review is being considered so we can cover our costs,” said Stéphane Edouma, MAG’s deputy director. He added that existing commitments remain intact and no work stoppages have occurred.
Future tenders are expected to be negotiated differently, with contractors likely to plan further ahead.
“Given the supply delays, we will anticipate them by creating buffer stocks to guarantee our schedules,” Edouma said.
“Lessons will inevitably be learned from this sudden crisis.”
While waiting for prices to stabilise, Kaba’s company is purchasing only the minimum quantities required under its contracts.
“Because of the price, storage has become practically impossible,” he noted.
Road builders also face higher fuel costs; a single piece of site machinery can consume more than 100 litres of fuel per day.
This article has been adapted from the original French version by Marie‑Pierre Olphand.
