Aliko Dangote has signed a $2.5 billion agreement with Ethiopia to build a fertilizer plant in the country’s eastern Somali region, a project expected to ease import dependence and transform the farm-driven economy.
Under the signed deal in Addis Ababa, Dangote will hold 60% of the venture while state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) will own the remaining 40%. The facility will have capacity to produce 3 million tons of fertilizer annually and will be linked by pipeline to the Calub and Hilala natural gas fields in the southeast. Construction is expected to take about 40 months.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the project will position Ethiopia among the world’s largest fertilizer producers. “This project will create jobs locally, ensure a reliable fertiliser supply for our farmers who have long faced challenges, and mark a decisive step in our path to food sovereignty,” he said in a statement.
Ethiopia, where agriculture accounts for more than one-third of GDP, currently spends about $1 billion a year on fertilizer imports, according to EIH Director-General Brook Taye. The new plant is expected to significantly reduce that bill while strengthening the nation’s food security.
For Dangote, Africa’s richest man, the project extends his industrial footprint across the continent. He already operates cement plants in 10 countries and runs a 3 million-ton fertilizer hub in Nigeria, commissioned three years ago. “This partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings represents a pivotal moment in our shared vision to industrialise Africa and achieve food security across the continent,” he said.
Dangote first entered Ethiopia a decade ago with a cement factory and continues to expand. His listed company plans to raise $400 million in equity and debt to add a second cement production line, while another unit is set to invest in the Omo Kuraz sugar factory in partnership with EIH.
