Samuel Ngare
Dangote Eyes Tanzania for $20 Billion Refinery, Fertiliser Plant and Port Development in Major Investment Push
Africa’s richest man signals deep commitment to Tanzania’s economic future as he pledges a wave of transformative projects spanning energy, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire and founder of Dangote Group, has unveiled an ambitious multi-sector investment blueprint for Tanzania, covering a massive oil refinery, a fertiliser production facility, and a major port development at Bagamoyo. The announcements came during a high-level engagement with the Tanzanian government, signalling one of the most significant private sector investment commitments the East African nation has received in recent years.
A Refinery Built for the Region, Not Just the Country
At the heart of Dangote’s Tanzania plans is a proposed 650,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery. A facility of the same scale and philosophy as his landmark Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, currently one of the largest single-train refineries in the world. Crucially, Dangote stressed that the project is designed with a pan-African ownership model in mind.
“The governments of East Africa will be part owners of this refinery,” Dangote said. “It doesn’t matter where the location is. And Tanzania, we have offered Tanzania to also be a part owner of this refinery.”
Technical teams from the region have been tasked with identifying the optimal location for the facility, with the primary criterion being access to diverse crude oil sources rather than proximity to any single oil field. This mirrors the strategic logic behind the Nigerian refinery, which was deliberately sited to draw from multiple crude streams. Dangote expressed confidence that, by the grace of God, the refinery could begin taking shape within the year.
Fertiliser Access, A Game-Changer for African Farmers
Beyond energy, Dangote identified fertiliser supply as a pressing structural challenge across the continent. African farmers have long suffered from delayed or out-of-season fertiliser deliveries, undermining crop yields and food security. His proposed solution for Tanzania is a urea production facility complemented by the blending of potash and phosphate to produce NPK compound fertiliser. Thus, ensuring year-round availability for farmers.
“We want farmers to always have accessibility to fertilisers,” Dangote said, adding that the NPK blending plant could be operational within a year of groundbreaking. The initiative has the potential to dramatically reduce Tanzania’s dependence on fertiliser imports and stabilise input costs for the country’s agricultural sector.
Port and Industrial Zone at Bagamoyo
Rounding out the immediate pipeline is a proposed port and industrial zone development at Bagamoyo, a strategic coastal location north of Dar es Salaam with longstanding potential as a major logistics hub. Dangote indicated that his technical team would begin on-site work the following week, underscoring the urgency and seriousness of the commitment.
A Happy, Expanding Investor
Dangote’s current footprint in Tanzania is already substantial. The Group’s cement operations at Mtwara have grown to near-full capacity, prompting plans for expansion. The company has also recently introduced close to 600 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks, transitioning its logistics fleet from diesel. Hence, a move that aligns with global decarbonisation trends and reduces operational fuel costs.
“We are a very happy investor here,” Dangote said. “We invested heavily in Mtwara and right now we’re almost out of capacity. We need to improve and increase.”
Why Tanzania? Stability, Leadership, and Demographics
Dangote was unequivocal about what draws serious investors to Tanzania: policy consistency, currency stability, and decisive leadership. He praised President Samia Suluhu Hassan for her responsiveness and follow-through, noting that challenges faced by his group were resolved promptly once raised at the highest level.
“Tanzania is like a scratch card which you only see the number when you scratch it,” he said. A metaphor for a country whose full economic potential is yet to be fully revealed.
For Tanzania’s youth, Dangote offered a direct message of encouragement, drawing on his own journey from buying four truckloads of cement daily to building a conglomerate targeting a place among the world’s 120 largest companies. “There is nothing that is impossible,” he said. “The future is very bright.”
Dangote Group’s expansion plans in Tanzania represent a convergence of energy sovereignty, food security, and infrastructure development. Pillars that could fundamentally reshape East Africa’s economic architecture in the decade ahead.
