Dangote unveils $2.5B Namibia storage, 1,700 km pipeline plan

By Elena Vasquez

At a Wednesday ceremony in Walvis Bay, on Namibia’s west coast, the country launched a $2.5 billion petroleum storage and regional pipeline project. The stated aims are to strengthen fuel security and improve fuel supplies to neighboring countries.

The announced Dangote Namibia Tank Farm and Regional Pipeline Project pairs a planned tank farm with an approximately 1,700 km regional pipeline network. The ceremony marked a project launch, not an operating commissioning: the announcement set out capacities and broad destinations but provided no startup date.

What does the $2.5 billion project include?

Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Nigerian conglomerate Dangote Group, said: “The Dangote Namibia Tank Farm and Regional Pipeline Project will include a storage facility with a planned capacity of 600 million liters, comprising 360 million liters of diesel and 240 million liters of petrol.”

The proposal’s main figures are:

• Estimated investment: $2.5 billion.
• Planned storage capacity: 600 million liters.
• Diesel storage: 360 million liters.
• Petrol storage: 240 million liters.
• Proposed regional pipeline: approximately 1,700 km.

The announcement treated both elements as parts of one development. It gave a precise product split for storage and an approximate length for the pipeline network, but did not disclose a construction completion date for either.

In short, the numbers describe a planned depot and network, not capacity already serving the market.

Where would the fuel travel?

The proposed pipeline would extend from Walvis Bay toward Otjiwarongo, according to Dangote. Its connections would run north toward Rundu and east toward Ghanzi and Francistown in Botswana.

The wider distribution network is intended to serve Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In short, the route plan links the port with inland markets, but the network remains a proposal.

Why did Namibia back the launch?

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the investment would expand petroleum storage and help secure fuel supplies for Namibia and landlocked countries in the region. She linked that objective to disruptions in international oil markets, which she associated with geopolitical tensions and vulnerable shipping routes.

She also said: “Namibia’s strategic location, particularly the Port of Walvis Bay and its established transport corridors, offered important advantages for regional petroleum distribution and trade.”

In short, Namibia presents the project as both a fuel-security measure and a way to use the port’s established transport corridors.

Who is behind the project?

Dangote Group is the Nigerian conglomerate leading the announced Walvis Bay development, with Aliko Dangote serving as president and chief executive. At the ceremony, Nandi-Ndaitwah called for Namibians to receive priority for employment opportunities arising from the project, followed by other Africans.

Namibia has been seeking expanded trade and investment cooperation with Nigeria. The government said those ties have a longstanding basis partly in Nigeria’s support for Namibia’s liberation struggle.

In short, the launch pairs a commercial development with local hiring priorities and closer economic cooperation with Nigeria.

When can the project become supply?

The announcement did not identify a final investment decision, construction start, permitting status, commissioning date or first-delivery schedule for either the tank farm or the pipeline. That leaves the $2.5 billion estimate as a figure for an announced development rather than an operating asset.

For operators and customers, the first hard checkpoint is a dated construction and permitting plan for the 600 million-liter depot. The pipeline needs a comparable timetable before the approximately 1,700 km network can affect regional supply.

The immediate watch item is a firm startup date for the tank farm, followed by a permitting and construction schedule for the pipeline. Until those milestones appear, Walvis Bay has an announced regional fuels plan, not new capacity in service.