Dangote Industries Limited has signed a long-term natural gas supply agreement valued at $4.2 billion with GCL Group, a major Chinese private energy conglomerate, to support a large-scale fertilizer production project in Ethiopia.
The 25-year agreement, signed in Lagos, is expected to provide stable natural gas supply for Dangote Group’s planned 3-million-tonne-per-year urea fertilizer complex in the East African country.
The project, estimated at $2.5 billion, will be developed through a 60:40 equity partnership between Dangote Industries Limited and Ethiopian Investment Holdings and is scheduled to commence operations in 2029.
Once completed, the facility is expected to become the largest modern fertilizer production hub in East Africa, meeting Ethiopia’s current urea import needs and supplying neighbouring markets across the region.
Under the agreement, natural gas will be sourced from the Calub Gas Field and transported through a dedicated 108-kilometre pipeline to the fertilizer plant located in Gode in Ethiopia’s Somali Region.
President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the partnership reflects Africa’s need to move beyond exporting raw materials and toward building integrated industrial value chains on the continent.
According to him, the collaboration will enable an efficient system linking natural gas extraction to fertilizer production, which he described as a crucial step toward strengthening Africa’s food security and industrial autonomy.
Chairman of GCL Group, Zhu Gongshan, also expressed confidence in the partnership, noting that the agreement was facilitated with the support of the Ethiopian government and will expand cooperation in the country’s energy, chemical and agricultural sectors.
He said the partnership combines GCL’s integrated oil and gas operations in Ethiopia with Dangote Group’s industrial footprint across Africa, creating opportunities to expand service capacity and market reach across the continent.
Industry analysts say the project could significantly transform the fertilizer landscape in East Africa by reducing dependence on imports and strengthening regional agricultural productivity.
The development is also expected to generate thousands of jobs, stimulate infrastructure development in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, and support local service industries.
Analysts also note that the project integrates upstream gas production, midstream pipeline transportation and downstream fertilizer manufacturing, creating a closed-loop “gas-to-fertilizer” industrial chain that aligns with global trends toward cleaner industrial production using natural gas as a feedstock.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen industrial cooperation between China and Africa and support broader development goals tied to infrastructure, energy independence and food security across the region.
Dangote Industries Limited, founded by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, operates across multiple sectors including cement, food processing, energy and chemicals and remains one of Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates.
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