Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, on Wednesday, November 4 launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and regional pipeline project at Walvis Bay in Namibia — a development that could reshape how fuel reaches much of Southern Africa.

Source: Reuters

The project, officially called the Dangote Namibia Tank Farm and Regional Pipeline Project, was launched at Farm 58 near the Atlantic port of Walvis Bay at a ceremony attended by Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Dangote said the pipeline, once complete, would strengthen the energy independence of six African countries and establish Walvis Bay as a fuel logistics hub.

Source: Reuters

Eight times Namibia's existing national storage

The tank farm alone will hold roughly eight times the capacity of Namibia's existing 75 million-litre National Oil Storage Facility, which is operated by the state oil company Namcor, Reuters reported. The storage split is 360 million litres of diesel with the remainder petrol.

Source: Reuters

Dangote told reporters the project would be completed within 18 to 20 months. "For Namibia it is expected to moderate logistical vulnerabilities, high shipping costs and severe energy insecurity while promoting infrastructure warehousing," he said at the launch.

Source: Reuters

A pipeline aimed at landlocked neighbours

The terminal has scope for a 1,700-kilometre pipeline connecting the hinterland countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia and potentially the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dangote said — landlocked markets that today depend heavily on fuel hauled long distances by road and rail from coastal ports. President Nandi-Ndaitwah, who first discussed the project with Dangote in June 2025, has placed it under the supervision of the Office of the President to cut through administrative delays, and called the investment a landmark for Africa's industrial future.

Source: BusinessPost Nigeria

Part of a continental fuel network

The Namibia launch is one of a slew of energy ventures championed by Dangote as he expands his business empire across a continent heavily reliant on imported fuels — and hard-hit this year by the Iran war's disruption of global oil flows. Dangote already operates Africa's biggest refinery in Nigeria, a 700,000 barrel-per-day plant which he is expanding, with plans for another 700,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Kenya on the opposite side of the continent, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Gerrit van Rooyen, a senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said the project was part of a broader strategy by Dangote to develop African fuel distribution networks for his refined fuel exports. "This will help the company to diversify its market, particularly away from a reliance on European and East Asian markets where the green energy transition is expected to moderate demand for refined fuel over the long term," van Rooyen added.

Source: Reuters

What happens next

The launch is a start, not a finished build: separate environmental assessments and regulatory approvals are still required for the fuel-storage development itself at Farm 58, so the 18-to-20-month clock Dangote quoted will be tested by permitting as much as by construction. If it is built as announced, Walvis Bay would become one of Southern Africa's main fuel gateways, and fuel supply for six countries would run through a single privately built hub — the strategic bet Dangote is making, and the dependency Namibia's neighbours would be accepting.