Dangote fertiliser plant Ethiopia: $2.5bn project aims to boost agriculture, food security and Africa’s industrial transformation

Dangote fertiliser plant Ethiopia officially broke ground in Gode, as Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, launched the $2.5 billion venture — set to become one of the world’s largest urea production complexes.

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The groundbreaking signals a new dawn for Africa’s industrialisation, with the plant designed to produce three million metric tonnes of urea annually.

Developed in partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the project will harness Ethiopia’s vast natural gas reserves in the Hilal and Calub basins to power its operations.

At the launch ceremony, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed praised the project as a milestone in cooperation and peace, noting it would enhance food security, create thousands of jobs, and position Ethiopia as a continental leader in fertiliser production.

“This is more than industry; it is a symbol of shared progress,” the Prime Minister said, calling on Ethiopians to support the country’s development ambitions.

Aliko Dangote commended Ethiopia’s government for implementing reforms that attract private investment, hailing the project as part of a broader vision to industrialise Africa using African solutions.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to achieving food security and economic resilience across the continent,” Dangote said. “Within five years, Ethiopia could become Africa’s leading agricultural nation.”

The Gode project is Dangote Group’s second major investment in Ethiopia, after its cement plant in Mugher, which has operated for over a decade.

The Group now plans to expand into the production of other fertilisers such as NPK, ammonium nitrate, and calcium ammonium nitrate.

Dangote described the fertiliser plant as the first time a private African investor has partnered with an African government on an industrial complex of this scale.

He reaffirmed the Group’s mission: “Only Africans can develop Africa.”

The project has attracted financial backing from Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, and leading Nigerian banks including First Bank, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank.

President of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, Mustafa Omar, called Dangote “the anchor investor Ethiopia has been looking for”, and praised his growing pan-African industrial legacy.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Dr Umaru Kwairanga, lauded the “gigantic project” as a reflection of Dangote’s commitment to continental self-sufficiency.

With installations like its 650,000 bpd oil refinery in Nigeria and a fertiliser expansion to nine million tonnes annually, Dangote Group continues to redefine Africa’s industrial capability.

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The Dangote fertiliser plant Ethiopia will not only catalyse agriculture in the Horn of Africa but also reshape the narrative of African-led development for decades to come.