Ethiopia’s state investment arm and Dangote Group have signed a $2.5B deal to build a fertilizer complex in Gode. The facility is set to produce up to 3M tons annually.
Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) and Nigeria’s Dangote Group have signed a shareholders’ agreement to build and operate a urea fertilizer production complex in Gode, Somali Regional State.
The $2.5 billion project will be one of the largest industrial investments in Ethiopia’s history, with a planned annual capacity of three million metric tons. Upon commencing operations, it could place Ethiopia among the top five global producers of urea.
Under the agreement, Dangote Group will hold 60% of the venture, while EIH, the government’s strategic investment arm, will retain 40%. The project includes the construction of state-of-the-art fertilizer plants and a pipeline to transport natural gas from the Calub and Hilala fields to the Gode facility.
The project aims to cut Ethiopia’s reliance on imported fertilizers, a major cost driver in the country’s agriculture sector, which employs more than 70% of the population. Officials say the facility will not only supply the domestic market, which consumes over 20 million quintals annually, but could also position Ethiopia as a regional hub for fertilizer exports.
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