Consulting Engineering Activities in South Africa 2022

Introduction

Conditions in the consulting engineering industry are challenging, largely due to weak economic growth and the slow rollout of infrastructure projects. This is evident in the sharp decline in total fee income in 2020, followed by a slight recovery.

However, mining companies’ demand for consulting engineering services is expected to grow due to the commodities boom and the large volumes of metals and minerals needed for the global clean energy transition. Renewable energy projects are another expected growth area. Africa is regarded as a key long-term growth market for infrastructure development and mining, providing opportunities for local consulting engineering firms.

Opportunities

Growth in demand from the mining and renewable energy industries.

Increasing demand for environment, social and governance services. Long-term demand from other African countries due to infrastructure development. Planned government spending on infrastructure.

Outlook

Globally, the architectural, engineering consultants and related services industry’s revenue is expected to increase.

The global mining industry is expected to grow strongly. Investment in the local mining industry is expected to increase due to higher commodity prices. In other industries, the amount of local work available to consulting engineering firms will largely depend on the level of economic growth; the rollout of infrastructure projects; and the development of renewable energy projects.

Report Coverage

This report focuses on the consulting engineering industry in South Africa, covering the effects of the mining and commodity boom and reduced spending on infrastructure and development.

It includes information on the state of the industry, trends in terms of projects and fee income and various influencing factors. There are profiles of 35 companies including AECOM SA, majority-owned by US company AECOM, and local players such as Bigen Africa, Bosch, BVi Consulting Engineers, Ilifa Africa, JG Afrika, Knight Piesold, Mariswe, SRK Consulting and Zutari.

Strengths

Clients are in the private and public sectors, and spread across various industries.

Large number of well-established companies. South Africa is known for its engineering skills. The industry has high standards.

Threats

Impact of COVID-19.

Poor economic growth affects construction industry performance. Rising input costs, especially labour. The slow rollout of infrastructure projects.

Weaknesses

Shortage of adequately skilled and experienced engineers.