Dangote begins $2.5bn fuel storage hub at Namibia's Walvis Bay
The tank farm outside Namibia's main port would hold 600 million litres, with a 1,700km pipeline planned to carry fuel to landlocked Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian industrialist, began construction of a fuel storage and pipeline project just outside Walvis Bay on Namibia's Atlantic coast on 4 November, a development his company puts at about $2.5 billion and AllAfrica, citing the state-owned daily New Era, put at N$41.6 billion.
The tank farm at Farm 58 would hold about 600 million litres of fuel, AllAfrica reported: 360 million litres of diesel and 240 million litres of petrol. The Rio Times reported the capacity is about eight times the 75 million litres held by the National Oil Storage Facility run by Namcor, Namibia's state oil company.
Dangote told the launch ceremony the project is meant to cut the cost of supplying fuel to countries without a coastline. "When we invest in the pipeline, it is not that we just want to make money out of the pipeline. It is because we want to heavily invest so that most of the landlocked countries will be able to access petroleum products at a cheaper price," AllAfrica quoted him saying.
"I can assure you, Your Excellency, your petroleum prices will be much, much cheaper than what they are today," he told President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who attended the event.
A pipeline of about 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) is planned. AllAfrica reported it would run from Walvis Bay towards Otjiwarongo, north to Rundu and east towards Francistown in Botswana, with a wider network expected to reach Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company says final routes depend on engineering studies, surveys and regulatory approvals. The Rio Times reported the route and construction schedule are not fixed and that it is unknown who would pay for the pipeline beyond the Dangote group.
Dangote said the project should be completed in 18 to 20 months. The Rio Times noted another account saying 18 months at most.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the investment followed her engagement with Dangote during his first visit to Namibia in August 2025, and that it was intended to strengthen fuel supply security for Namibia and its landlocked neighbours, including parts of the DRC and potentially South Africa.
Dangote said the group had raised its target for investment in African industry from $50 billion to $60 billion by 2030. It also owns a refinery in Nigeria that The Rio Times reported processes about 650,000 to 700,000 barrels of crude a day, and holds refining, fertiliser and pipeline interests in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, according to AllAfrica.
He said the Walvis Bay site would create work for Namibian contractors, transport operators, professionals and small businesses during construction and operation.
How the reports differ
AllAfrica, carrying a report from Namibia's state-owned New Era, led with Dangote's promise of cheaper fuel and gave the cost as N$41.6 billion, with a pipeline route running through Otjiwarongo, Rundu and towards Francistown in Botswana. Reuters led on the $2.5 billion figure and the launch itself. The Rio Times added the comparison with Namcor's 75 million-litre storage facility and the refinery throughput figure, and noted that the pipeline's route, financing and construction schedule remain unsettled. The Rio Times also reported the completion time as 18 to 20 months in one passage and 18 months at most in another.
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