Dangote build one of the continent's largest fertilizer plants in Ethiopia
Africa's wealthiest man to build one of the continent's largest fertilizer plants in Ethiopia
Africa's richest man is making headlines once again. Two years after opening a massive oil refinery in Lagos, Nigerian entrepreneur Aliko Dangote, who leads the Dangote Group, has announced another major project in Ethiopia. On August 28, he revealed plans to build a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Gode, a rural area in the country's southeast.
This $2.5 billion investment – with a shareholder agreement granting 60% to the Dangote Group and 40% to Ethiopia – would rank among the largest in the country's history, the company said in a statement. With a projected annual production capacity of 3 million tons in three years' time, the urea plant would rank among the world's five largest, according to the statement, in which the billionaire reaffirmed his ambition to "industrialize Africa."
The announcement is significant for Ethiopia, a Horn of Africa nation often praised for its potential. The country has a population of 132 million, and its economic growth has ranged between 5% and 10% since 2006, according to the World Bank. However, it continues to face huge challenges in development and poverty reduction. On its high plateaus, agriculture employs 60% of the population and accounts for more than 30% of gross domestic product. But local farmers struggle with limited access to fertilizers, which are imported at steep prices in a landlocked country.
ADDIS ABABA, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Ethiopia has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s Dangote Group to build a $2.5 billion fertiliser manufacturing plant, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday in a post on social media platform X.
The investment is part of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s efforts to end Africa’s fertilizer imports.
To be located in Gode town in Ethiopia’s southeast, the plant will produce 3 million metric tons of fertilizer a year, Abiy said.
The agreement was signed by state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) and Dangote Group.
Ethiopia will have a 40% stake in the venture while Dangote Group will own 60%, EIH Chief Executive Brook Taye said at the signing ceremony in Addis Ababa.
An EIH statement on X quoted billionaire Dangote as saying that the investment represented a “shared vision to industrialize Africa and achieve food security across the continent”.
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