Dangote Group has broken ground on a fuel storage and regional pipeline project valued at $2.5bn in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

The development aims to alter the fuel supply structure across Southern Africa, reported Reuters.

The project, launched at a ceremony attended by Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, includes a tank farm with capacity for around 600 million litres, or roughly four million barrels. Of this, 360 million litres will be allocated to diesel and the rest to petrol.

When complete, it will be eight times the size of Namibia's current 75 million-litre National Oil Storage Facility, which is operated by the state-run NAMCOR.

Aliko Dangote, founder of Dangote Group, said the venture would improve energy security and reduce transport costs for Namibia and neighbouring states.

He said the terminal has scope for a 1,700km pipeline reaching Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, and potentially the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Dangote, the fuel terminal is designed to support the establishment of Walvis Bay as a logistics centre for fuel.

Construction is slated for completion within 18 to 20 months, Dangote told reporters at the event.

In related developments, Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria outlined plans in September to invest $14.3bn to expand its processing capacity from 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd.

This comes on the heels of the company completing Africa’s largest initial public offering (IPO), which offered 4.1bn ordinary shares at N525 each and ultimately drew $4.77bn in total investor demand.

The Dangote refinery, constructed at an estimated cost of $20bn, began operations in 2024 and exports products to both African and European markets.

IPO documents show the facility recorded an after-tax profit of $1.82bn for the first half of 2026, compared to a $476m loss for 2025.