Aliko Dangote has signed a multibillion-dollar agreement with the Ethiopian government to construct a $2.5 billion fertiliser plant.
The deal, signed in Addis Ababa on Thursday, gives Dangote a 60% stake in the project, while state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) will hold the remaining 40%. The facility will be located in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region.
Expected to take about 40 months to complete, the plant will produce three million tonnes of fertiliser annually. It will also connect by pipeline to the Calub and Hilala natural gas fields in the southeast.
EIH said the project would sharply reduce Ethiopia’s reliance on fertiliser imports, ease foreign exchange pressures, and secure a stable local supply.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed the agreement as a milestone in the country’s pursuit of food security, saying it would create jobs and ensure farmers have reliable access to fertiliser.
Dangote, who already runs cement operations in 10 African countries and a three-million-tonne fertiliser hub in Nigeria, said the partnership marked “a pivotal moment” in Africa’s drive towards industrialisation and food sovereignty.