NEW YORK, Sept 21 – Dangote Group plans to invest more than $3.5 billion in a roughly 2,650-kilometre petroleum-products pipeline connecting Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, expanding the Nigerian conglomerate’s strategy to build a continent-wide fuel distribution network.
Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries, disclosed the planned investment during a Bloomberg interview with Francine Lacqua at the Qatar Economic Forum’s UNGA Special Edition in New York.
Dangote said the Southern African project forms part of a broader pipeline programme that could eventually give the group almost 4,000 kilometres of pipeline infrastructure across Africa.
“Right now, the budget is over $3.5 billion. But it’s not the only pipeline we’re doing. We’re doing a couple of pipelines in Africa. I think by the time that we finish, I’m sure I will end up with over almost 4,000 kilometers of pipeline.”
The proposed Southern African route is expected to begin in Namibia and pass through Botswana into South Africa. Dangote also outlined a separate corridor running from Namibia through Zimbabwe and Zambia toward the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Building a Southern African fuel corridor
The planned infrastructure is intended to improve the movement of refined petroleum products into landlocked markets, where long-distance road transportation can increase logistics costs and complicate fuel supply.
“That’s why we’re now taking the products into their market,” Dangote said, referring to the group’s focus on supplying landlocked African countries.
The pipeline network would complement Dangote’s plans for petroleum storage infrastructure at Walvis Bay, Namibia, providing a coastal distribution hub from which refined products could move into inland Southern African markets.
In April, The Namibian reported that Dangote was working with the African Export-Import Bank on an approximately $3 billion infrastructure facility linked to intra-African fuel trade, including a tank farm at Walvis Bay.
The Southern African pipeline proposal represents an expansion of plans Dangote first outlined in late 2025 for a roughly 2,000-kilometre route from Walvis Bay through Botswana toward Zimbabwe.
In November 2025, Dangote signed an agreement in Zimbabwe covering potential energy and infrastructure investments, including a proposed pipeline linking Walvis Bay, Botswana and Bulawayo.
By June 2026, Dangote Group CEO David Bird said the company was considering a broader corridor connecting the Namibia storage facility with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, with potential extensions into South Africa and the DRC.
Dangote’s latest disclosure places the Southern African route at approximately 2,620 to 2,650 kilometres, while the group’s wider pipeline programme could approach 4,000 kilometres.
Expanding the network beyond Southern Africa
Dangote’s pipeline strategy extends beyond the southern corridor.
The group is also preparing a pipeline connecting Djibouti and Ethiopia, alongside tank farms designed to provide strategic fuel storage. Dangote said the project is scheduled for launch on September 24, with construction expected to begin within two months.
Another proposed corridor would connect Lamu in Kenya with inland markets in Ethiopia, supporting Dangote’s plans for a major refining project on Kenya’s coast.
The proposed Kenyan refinery is expected to have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, matching the current nameplate capacity of Dangote’s Nigerian refinery. Reuters reported earlier this month that the planned $15 billion to $16 billion Lamu refinery is expected to break ground later in September, although securing crude supply and financing remain important considerations.
Linking refining capacity with distribution
The pipeline expansion is part of Dangote Group’s broader effort to integrate refining, storage, transportation and fuel distribution across African markets.
The Dangote refinery in Lagos currently operates at commercial scale, with capacity of about 650,000 barrels per day and production that has reached around 700,000 barrels per day. The group plans to expand the facility to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
The company is simultaneously developing its Kenyan refining project and pursuing storage and distribution infrastructure in other African markets.
The strategy would allow Dangote to connect refining assets and coastal storage facilities with inland fuel markets through dedicated infrastructure, reducing reliance on road transportation and fragmented supply chains.
Dangote said the scale of the group’s expansion reflects its preference for large infrastructure projects rather than incremental investments.
“We don’t believe in baby steps. We believe in doing things at scale, because we know that we have the market.”
The proposed pipeline network therefore forms part of a broader effort to create an integrated African petroleum-products supply chain, linking coastal storage hubs and refineries with landlocked markets across multiple regions.
