Nigeria's Dangote launches $2.5bn Walvis Bay fuel hub to supply Southern Africa’s landlocked markets

Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote launched a planned $2.5bn petroleum storage and regional pipeline project in Namibia on November 4, marking another step in his group’s expansion into fuel distribution across Southern Africa, Reuters reported.

The project was unveiled near Walvis Bay, Namibia’s principal port, at a ceremony attended by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. It combines a planned fuel storage terminal with pipelines intended to supply Botswana, South Africa and other regional markets.

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

The launch coincided with increases of N$2 per litre for petrol and N$3 for diesel in Namibia’s regulated fuel prices on November 4, which Mines and Energy Minister Modestus Amutse attributed to higher shipping and vessel-waiting costs and exchange-rate pressures, The Namibian reported.

The Walvis Bay terminal is designed to store at least 1.6mn barrels of petrol and diesel. Plans include two main storage tanks, two dispensing tanks, truck-loading facilities and a separate 16-kilometre pipeline connecting the terminal to the fuel jetty.

The regional pipeline network will extend about 1,700 kilometres, Reuters reported, citing the company. Dangote previously outlined a 2,650-kilometre Namibia–Botswana–South Africa route budgeted at more than $3.5bn, while refinery executives have also discussed a corridor through Zimbabwe and Zambia towards the Democratic Republic of Congo. The revised scope has not been explained.

Botswana has already held discussions with Dangote about securing fuel supplies. Minerals and Energy Minister Bogolo Kenewendo said in late October that the government had approached the group, alongside potential suppliers in Angola and Côte d’Ivoire, as it sought to diversify import routes and reduce fuel-security risks, BusinessDay reported. No binding supply or pipeline agreement has been announced.

As IntelliNews reported on October 22, the infrastructure is intended to distribute refined petroleum products shipped from Dangote’s Lagos refinery. Namibia’s National Planning Commission previously put the cost of the Walvis Bay terminal at about N$2.4bn ($140mn), separate from the wider regional pipeline budget, The Namibian reported in November 2025.

The proposed terminal would expand an existing export trade. Dangote shipped 158,000 tonnes of fuel to Southern Africa in 2025 and a record 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) to South Africa in March 2026, according to S&P Global figures cited by IntelliNews. Dangote said in October that shipments from his Lagos refinery to Namibia would take about four days by sea.

The Southern African network forms part of a wider $50bn investment programme through 2030 covering Dangote Group’s refining, manufacturing, mining, ports and other industrial businesses. In East Africa, the group is separately pursuing a $660mn pipeline and storage project linking Djibouti with Ethiopia and acquired a 24.76% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company (NSE:KPC) for $327mn in October.

The November 4 ceremony does not establish that physical construction has begun. Dangote Industries Namibia previously applied for environmental clearance to subdivide approximately 68 hectares at Farm 58 near Walvis Bay. The Namibian reported that the application covered land subdivision only, with a separate environmental impact assessment and approval required before construction of the storage facility.

The project has also prompted concerns about its impact on local businesses. In November 2025, opposition leader McHenry Venaani warned that a regional pipeline could displace Namibian trucking and logistics operators and called for 70% of construction work to be allocated to local companies and workers.

The group has not disclosed a confirmed construction completion date, detailed financing arrangements or the status of approvals for the cross-border pipeline network, although Afreximbank has indicated it could help fund the project, Reuters reported.

See IntelliNews: Africa’s refinery boom draws billions while financing and crude-supply risks mount

See IntelliNews: Nigeria’s Dangote confirms $327mn purchase of 24.76% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company