With a population of 1.3billion people, which is predicted to continue to grow until 2030, the Chinese government is concerned with how it is going to continue to feed its people. China has only 7% arable land and is losing millions of hectares per year to pollutions and desertification. Food shortages are a real possibility in the near future that very often lead to civil unrest and in a command society that poses a significant threat to government power. Like the Romans and Victorians before them, Africa is being viewed as the future “bread basket” of Asia. For more than a decade, China has provided billions of dollars of aid to African countries, cancelled debts and poured investment into infrastructure projects from schools and hospital to roads and airports. Almost every major city in Africa has a Chinatown or significant Chinese population. Infrastructure contracts with African governments often come with clauses to ensure Chinese people are employed first, which has swelled their presence in Africa. With a burgeoning Chinese population in Africa and a growing need to transport goods to and from China, there is a need for more domestic air travel to ferry passengers and cargo to hubs to fly long-haul to China. Several news airlines are being set up in Africa at the moment, with many being supported by local and Chinese investors.
Airline Economics Jan/Feb issue, due out in early February, includes an extensive article on the burgeoning African airline industry including interviews with investors in the region as well as the new airline owners. This issue also contains the full Aviation 100 survey results and interview with the winners from each category. Anyone who wishes to receive a full print and online issues of the magazine, including the Finance and Leasing Guide, the MRO Global guide and several aircraft guides, will need to subscribe as all free access will now be blocked to anyone but subscribers.