KEY POINTS
- Dangote launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and pipeline project at Walvis Bay.
- A planned 1,700-kilometer pipeline would serve landlocked Southern African markets.
- Dangote raised his group’s 2030 Africa investment target to $60 billion.
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote on Wednesday launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and pipeline project at Walvis Bay, Namibia, aimed at supplying cheaper petroleum products across Southern Africa.
Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and senior government officials attended the launch of the Dangote Namibia Tank Farm and Regional Pipeline Project at Farm 58, outside the port town, Channels Television reported.
Channels said the facility is expected to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel. However, a Dangote statement carried by other outlets put capacity at 600 million liters, split between 360 million liters of diesel and 240 million liters of petrol.
Walvis Bay pipeline to reach inland markets
The project also includes a planned regional pipeline network of about 1,700 kilometers. It would connect Walvis Bay to markets in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and parts of Congo, according to the statement.
Dangote said the aim is to help landlocked countries “access petroleum products at cheaper prices.” Meanwhile, he raised his group’s Africa investment target for 2030 to $60 billion from $50 billion, saying it wants to build linked centers of production, storage and distribution across the continent.
Namibia’s president hails the project
Nandi-Ndaitwah called the project a landmark investment that will speed up Africa’s industrialization, strengthen regional energy security and deepen economic integration. She also said it fits the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Still, she warned that bureaucratic delays continue to threaten major investments in Namibia, Namibian outlet Mining & Energy reported. She said she had personally intervened to keep the project moving after other investors abandoned plans over administrative holdups.
The launch caps more than a year of groundwork. Dangote met Nandi-Ndaitwah in Windhoek in June 2025 and toured the port. Then in November 2025, he signed an agreement with Zimbabwe worth more than $1 billion that included a pipeline from Walvis Bay to Bulawayo.
