Dangote inaugurates his $2.5 billion project to establish a fuel lifeline in the Southern region of Africa, where there is no sea access

The CEO of the Dangote Group, which controls the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, opened a site in Namibia where he aims to store oil products.

The oil depot will serve as a central hub for a pipeline network designed to distribute petroleum products throughout Southern Africa’s fuel-import-dependent region.

“We want to heavily invest so that most of the landlocked countries will be able to access petroleum products at a cheaper price,” Dangote stated at a groundbreaking event for the project.

The project, which is estimated at $2.5 billion, will span Botswana, South Africa, and potentially other countries in the sub-region, as reported by Bloomberg.

As currently designed, the project encompasses a 1,700-kilometer (1,056-mile) pipeline.

“Your petroleum prices will be much, much cheaper than where they are,” Dangote said about 10 kilometers east of Walvis Bay.

The project will “strengthen Namibia’s energy security and advance regional trade and industrial development across southern Africa.”

The pipeline project will include storage facilities capable of holding about 4 million barrels of fuel.

This will include 360 million litres of diesel and 240 million litres of gasoline, Dangote said.

Several African governments have also turned to exclusive supply deals with traders such as Vitol Group to avoid fuel shortages.

Landlocked Botswana, for instance, is negotiating to buy fuel from different suppliers, including Oman and Dangote, to secure a steady supply.

Dangote Group is also working on other projects across Africa.

These include fuel-storage facilities and a pipeline linking Djibouti to Ethiopia.

In September, it was reported that Dangote and Ethiopian Investment Holdings are planning to invest $660 million in a petroleum-products pipeline that will connect Ethiopia to Djibouti’s coast, giving the landlocked country a new route for moving refined fuel.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Ethiopian Investment Holdings are investing $660 million in a pipeline to transport fuel from Djibouti to landlocked Ethiopia.

The 120-kilometre pipeline will connect Dewele in Ethiopia to Damerjog in Djibouti and is expected to be ready within 18 months, according to Billene Seyoum, a spokesperson for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The project will also include two large fuel-storage facilities.

The one in Dewele will hold about 800,000 cubic metres of fuel, while the facility in Damerjog will have a capacity of 375,000 cubic metres.

The pipeline is expected to reduce the cost and delays involved in transporting fuel to Ethiopia, while making it easier for the country to secure a steady supply of petroleum products.