After deeply exploring the Southeast Asian market, the overseas territory of Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition has extended to the African continent.
On the 17th, the African branch of the 2026 Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition opened in Nairobi, Kenya.
It is understood that this exhibition has achieved fruitful economic and trade results, with a total contract value of US$189.4 million. The cooperation areas cover construction machinery procurement, new energy vehicle promotion, intelligent equipment collaboration and other tracks, helping Hunan enterprises’ construction machinery industry to deeply take root in emerging markets in Africa.
The exhibition area of this Africa branch reaches 15,000 square meters, with multiple specialized subdivision exhibition areas, attracting more than 300 companies from home and abroad to participate in the exhibition.
Leading Chinese construction machinery companies such as XCMG, Sany Heavy Industry, and Zoomlion were all present, bringing customized upgraded products based on localized use scenarios in Africa to accurately match local infrastructure development needs.
In view of the regional characteristics of Africa such as high temperature, high sand and dust, complex road conditions and special fuel conditions, exhibitors have specially optimized and upgraded the performance of their exhibits.
Among them, XCMG participated in the exhibition with 7 main equipment, focusing on strengthening the dustproof, heat dissipation and power performance of the equipment to adapt to the complex working environment in the African field; Sany Heavy Industry exhibited 4 core equipment, which have outstanding advantages in terms of operating efficiency, energy saving and consumption reduction, and long-term continuous operation; Zoomlion launched 10 customized products, covering multiple categories such as earthmoving, hoisting, and agricultural machinery. Relying on the flexible characteristics of one machine with multiple uses, it is suitable for different scale engineering construction and agricultural production scenarios in Africa.
Since the launch of its overseas layout in 2023, Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition has continued to practice the expansion path of “deeply cultivating surrounding areas and radiating around the world”. It has previously held three consecutive Southeast Asian branch exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a cumulative exhibition area of more than 30,000 square meters, attracting more than 360 companies to participate in the exhibition, driving sales to exceed 2 billion yuan, and becoming an important bridge for Chinese construction machinery companies to explore the Southeast Asian market.
At present, Africa is in the stage of accelerating and upgrading industrialization and infrastructure construction, and is one of the emerging markets with the greatest growth potential in the global construction machinery industry.
Data show that Africa’s annual infrastructure investment reaches US$130 billion to US$170 billion, and its dependence on imported engineering equipment exceeds 90%. Demand for equipment updates, replacements, and new additions continues to be strong, and the market has broad room for development.
Relying on the strong industrial foundation, the export momentum of Hunan’s construction machinery industry continues to be strong.
Statistics show that the province’s exports of construction machinery-related products increased from 16.37 billion yuan in 2022 to 31.76 billion yuan in 2025, a four-year increase of 94%; in the first two months of 2026, Hunan’s construction machinery exports to Africa soared 77% year-on-year, and Africa has become the core incremental market for Hunan enterprises to go overseas.
Guests from all parties participating in the event said that East Africa has great potential for the development of infrastructure, mining, and modern agricultural industries. They look forward to using this exhibition to deepen practical cooperation between China and Kenya in industry and business, continue to introduce China’s advanced engineering machinery technology and equipment, and welcome more Hunan engineering machinery companies to invest in Africa to build a win-win situation.
It is reported that this exhibition, as an important step in the global layout of the Changsha Construction Machinery Exhibition, is jointly sponsored by the Kenya Investment Promotion Agency, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition Organizing Committee. It brings together more than 1,300 professional buyers to the scene for docking and negotiation. The merchants are from 15 African countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Kenyan local engineering and mining procurement alliances also organized groups to attend the exhibition, creating a warm atmosphere for supply and demand docking.
The organizer said that this exhibition will build a stable African buyer resource system for the 5th Changsha International Construction Machinery Exhibition in 2027, and continue to polish the international industry card of “Changsha Construction Machinery”.
