Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote are planning to build a 660-million-dollar refined petroleum pipeline to improve fuel supply and reduce transportation costs between the two countries.
A spokesperson in the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed disclosed this on Thursday, saying the project would connect Ethiopia and Djibouti through a 120-kilometre pipeline.
The project will also include about 375,000 cubic metres of petroleum storage capacity at Damerjog in Djibouti and 800,000 cubic metres at Dewele in Ethiopia.
The spokesperson said the pipeline is expected to become operational within 18 months.
Prime Minister Abiy, in a post on X, said the project would be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and the Dangote Group.
He said the infrastructure was designed to reduce logistics costs and delays along the Ethiopia-Djibouti transport corridor.
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According to Abiy, the project would also strengthen energy security and improve supply chain resilience in both countries.
Abiy made the announcement during his visit to Djibouti alongside Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Aliko Dangote.
The Dangote Group is separately developing a four-billion-dollar fertiliser plant and power facility, as well as a polypropylene packaging facility, in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, in Kenya, Dangote and the government are expected to break ground next week on a new 700,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery in Lamu.
Reuters
