South African construction companies, which arguably benefited the most from infrastructure contracts associated with the 2010 soccer World Cup, are now pinning their hopes on projects elsewhere on the African continent and in other parts of the world.

After the hectic activity ahead of the tournament, there has been a clear slowdown in the construction sector.

Cees Bruggemans, chief economist at First National Bank, said the local construction industry should wait for a signal from the government for the roll out of public infrastructure projects in municipalities, provincial government and parastatals.

Mike Upton, the chief executive of engineering and construction company Group Five, said from the local perspective there was a slowdown because the country was moving out of a "super cycle" in which the private and public sectors had been extremely busy.

Upton said Group Five operates in 23 countries in the Middle East, the rest of the African continent and Eastern Europe.

"This brings some resilience to our operations, particularly Africa which has been identified as a viable emerging market driven by resources and improvement in governance. Africa has become an interesting destination," Upton said.

He said the Middle East, with the exception of beleaguered Dubai, is also an interesting investment destination as it has many investment opportunities, mainly in infrastructure and energy projects.

Upton said anti-free market sentiments such as calls for nationalisation were not good for the South African brand and foreign direct investment meant for the country could find its way in other countries in the region.

Roger Jardine, chief executive of construction group Aveng, agreed that SA's infrastructure projects sector is going through a difficult period and the group has been eyeing projects elsewhere.

Jardine said Aveng had, in April this year, completed the largest desalination project in sub-Saharan Africa, the Trekkopje in Namibia.

Aveng has prioritised the development of water treatment solutions and the group intends to continue investing in technology to deal with the threats of acid mine drainage.

Aveng competitor Murray and Roberts echoed many of these views.

Murray and Roberts said it had projects in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi and Bahrain in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The group also said it had current projects in North Bay in Ontario, Canada and Kalgoorlie in Australia.

Smaller competitor Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) announced during its result presentation for the year ended June that it wanted to piggyback on countries that supply minerals to China and India because that is where growth was likely to come from.

Makwe Masilela, a market analyst at BP Bernstein, said with the rush for Africa's rich mineral resources in countries like Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Zimbabwe, local construction companies are bidding for contracts in the creation of mines and related infrastructure.