From Nigeria to East Africa: Dangote Plans $660m Fuel Pipeline

A Nigerian industrial project is about to stretch another 120 kilometres across East Africa.

Dangote Group, Ethiopia and Djibouti plan to build a $660 million refined petroleum-products pipeline connecting Ethiopia with Djibouti.

The project will include a 120-kilometre pipeline, plus about 375,000 cubic metres of storage at Damerjog in Djibouti and 800,000 cubic metres at Dewele in Ethiopia.

It is expected to become operational within 18 months.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the project is designed to reduce transport costs and delays along the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor.

It is also expected to strengthen energy security and supply-chain resilience. The project will be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and Dangote Group.

And this is where the story becomes bigger than one pipeline. Dangote’s African expansion is increasingly moving beyond Nigeria’s borders, with the group already involved in major fertiliser, energy and industrial projects in Ethiopia.

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The pipeline also shows how infrastructure can turn a refinery or petroleum business into something larger: a regional supply network.

For Ethiopia, the attraction is straightforward.For Djibouti, it adds another strategic energy infrastructure asset.

For Dangote, it is another step in building an industrial footprint across Africa.

The interesting question is no longer whether Dangote’s business has become African. The question is how far across Africa it intends to. ValidViewNetwork reports