The Infrastructure Opportunity in North Africa: Legal Frameworks and Political Realities

North Africa is in the middle of one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in its history. The legal frameworks governing project development, procurement, and foreign investment have changed substantially. We assess where the opportunities are and what the legal landscape actually looks like.

Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria are each deploying significant capital into transport, energy, and water infrastructure — funded through a combination of sovereign budgets, multilateral financing, and private investment. The legal frameworks that govern foreign participation vary considerably: Egypt has moved towards a more standardised PPP framework; Morocco's project finance environment is among the most developed in the region; Algeria remains more restrictive but has opened specific sectors to international contractors. In all three markets, the gap between the formal legal framework and what is required in practice — in terms of relationships, approvals, and local content — is significant. Companies entering on the basis of the written rules alone routinely encounter the unwritten ones too late.