Ethiopia and Djibouti have partnered with the Dangote Group on a $660 million petroleum infrastructure project to establish a new refined petroleum products pipeline between the two neighbouring Horn of Africa countries. The project was announced on September 24 during Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's visit to Djibouti, where he appeared alongside Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.
The 120-kilometre cross-border pipeline will link Damerjog in Djibouti with Dewele in Ethiopia, backed by major storage facilities and an investment designed to strengthen energy security, cut logistics costs, and deepen regional integration. The project will be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and the Dangote Group, with storage terminals planned at both ends of the pipeline.
The infrastructure will include approximately 375,000 cubic metres of storage capacity at Damerjog and 800,000 cubic metres at Dewele, according to Reuters. The project is expected to become operational within 18 months. Prime Minister Abiy described the investment as an important step towards strengthening the Ethiopia-Djibouti economic corridor, which serves as a critical trade and logistics lifeline for landlocked Ethiopia.
Prime Minister Abiy said the infrastructure is expected to reduce logistics costs and delays while strengthening energy security and improving the efficiency and resilience of the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor. He presented the project as part of a broader push towards regional integration and African-led investment in major infrastructure. For Ethiopia, the pipeline offers the prospect of reducing reliance on road transportation for petroleum products moving through Djibouti.
President Guelleh placed the project within a wider African debate about energy security, industrialisation, and the continent's continued dependence on imported refined petroleum products. Guelleh said Africa must move away from a model in which it exports raw energy resources only to import refined products at prices determined elsewhere. He described energy independence as an important foundation for broader economic independence.
President Guelleh also stressed the importance of developing African technical expertise alongside physical infrastructure, saying the people who operate and maintain major projects must acquire the skills required to sustain them. Beyond petroleum transportation, the project represents another major expansion of Dangote's investment footprint in East Africa, including a $4 billion fertiliser-related investment in Ethiopia.
The partnership underscores the increasingly prominent role of African private capital in financing strategic infrastructure across the continent. If delivered within the projected 18-month timeframe, the Damerjog-Dewele pipeline would stand as one of the most consequential recent infrastructure investments along the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor, bringing together two governments and one of Africa's largest private industrial groups around a project centred on energy security, trade efficiency, and regional connectivity.
Key points
- The project aims to strengthen energy security and regional integration between Ethiopia and Djibouti.
- The pipeline will link Damerjog in Djibouti with Dewele in Ethiopia, with major storage facilities and an investment of $660 million.
- The project is expected to become operational within 18 months and will be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and the Dangote Group.
