Introduction Pre-stressing is one of the methodologies applied by civil engineers to mitigate natural drawbacks of steel concrete structures. The methodology is deployed to produce various structures for commercial utilisation such as floors, bridges, and beams among others. Concrete withstands more loads while subjected to compressive loads than while subjected to tensile loads. This behaviour implies that, when used to produce columns that are to be subjected to compressive loads, it can withstand more loads relative to when it supports loads that subject it to tension. A similar scenario is experienced when concrete is deployed to produce a beam. For instance, when a beam is simply supported and loaded, the dead load (load due to the weight of the beam) and the applied load subject the upper portion of the beam to compressive deformation. The lower side is subjected to tensile strains, which otherwise induces tensile stress. Since non-reinforced concrete is stronger in compression than in tension, the beam can only support a limited amount of load in tension. When the span of a beam is increased, the load, which can be supported, reduces because longer spans buckle more than shorter spans. One way of dealing with this challenge is by providing more supports to the beam. However, this strategy is inconvenient especially when a beam is used to support floors in multi-storey buildings requiring large floor surface areas. Cost also becomes prohibitive. The amount of concrete used to make a beam to support a given amount of load is also higher than in the case of a reinforced beam. Traditionally, reinforcing was done using steel bars, which provide the required strength in tension. With a reinforced beam, the spans, which can support an equivalent load with a non-reinforced concrete beam with equal cross-sectional dimensions is higher. The need to increase such spans even higher gives rise to the need of utilisation of pre-stressed concrete. The aim of this paper is to discuss the historical developments of pre-stressed concrete, the basic concepts of pre-stressed concrete, and the manufacturing of the pre-stressed concrete. An effort is also made to discuss the design of pre-stressed concrete together with its new developments. Historical Development The current achievements of the utilisation of pre-stressed concrete in civil engineering rest on the undying effort of scientists and engineers within the last 100 years. A San Francisco-based engineer, Jackson, was the first to patent pre-stressed concrete when he applied “patent for construction of artificial stone and concrete pavements in 1886” (Raju 2009: 2). In his patent, pre-stressing was realised through tensioning. Various rods used for reinforcing concrete were set in the form of sleeves. Two years later in 1888, small beams coupled with slabs were produced in Germany, Dorhring through deployment of tensioned wires that were embedded in concrete for purposes of crack prevention. In 1886, Mandl introduced the idea that pre-stressing was essential in countering the stress introduced by loads in concrete structures. Later, in 1907, “ Koenen, of Germany, further developed the subject by reporting on the losses of pre-stress due to elastic shortening of concrete”(Raju 2009: 2). However, the significance of the l