Namibia has launched an estimated US$2.5 billion fuel storage and pipeline project at Walvis Bay, with plans to link its Atlantic coast to inland markets in southern Africa.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah joined Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote at the launch on 4 November 2026 at Farm 58, near the port. The project remains a proposal: the ceremony did not mark the opening of a working tank farm or regional pipeline.
The presidency said the planned investment would include a petroleum storage facility with capacity for 600 million litres and a regional pipeline network of approximately 1,700 kilometres. Dangote said at the launch that the storage would be divided between 360 million litres of diesel and 240 million litres of petrol.
The scale is substantial when compared with Namibia’s existing National Oil Storage Facility, also at Walvis Bay. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, known as Namcor, says that facility has a total capacity of 75 million litres across seven tanks. The capacity announced for the new project would be eight times that of the existing facility, although it is not yet available for use.
Storage and a longer route inland
The plans cover more than storage tanks. They include truck-loading and dispensing infrastructure, and an approximately 16-kilometre pipeline connecting a fuel jetty to the tank farm. A separate, much longer regional network is envisaged beyond the storage site.
Dangote said the proposed inland route would run from Walvis Bay towards Otjiwarongo, with connections north towards Rundu and east towards Ghanzi and Francistown in Botswana. The wider distribution network is intended to serve Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and southern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The final route and length are not fixed. Dangote said they would depend on detailed engineering studies, route surveys and regulatory approvals. The proposed infrastructure also remains subject to environmental processes. The launch should not be treated as confirmation that the full cross-border network has been approved or built.
Dangote said he expected the project to be completed within 18 to 20 months, though the extent of the work covered by that estimate was not specified.
Supply ambitions and local participation
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the investment could expand Namibia’s storage capacity and help secure supplies for the country and landlocked neighbours. She pointed to Walvis Bay and the transport corridors serving it as advantages for regional distribution.
Dangote said he expected the investment to make petroleum products more affordable in Namibia and the wider region. That is an anticipated benefit, not a confirmed price reduction. The eventual impact would depend on the development being completed and how the fuel is supplied and distributed.
The president called for Namibians to be given priority in employment opportunities arising from the project, followed by other Africans. She also emphasised participation by local businesses and the development of skills. Dangote said the project could create opportunities for contractors, transport operators, professionals and smaller businesses during construction and operation.
Those opportunities are aspirations rather than confirmed job totals. The presidency said the project had been placed under the oversight of the Office of the President to help prevent administrative delays. It traced the investment discussions to a meeting between Nandi-Ndaitwah and Dangote in June 2025.
The figure announced at the launch is the value of the proposed investment, not the total of money already spent. The presidency’s announcement did not set out a complete financing breakdown. Engineering, environmental and regulatory work will be important to the project’s next stages.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
