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Dangote targets 2.1 million bpd across Africa with Tanzania power and fertiliser complex and Congo fuel deal

Africa's richest man unveiled a 2,000 MW coal plant, urea factory and port in Tanzania after talks with President Suluhu; Congo's national oil company separately opened supply talks with the Lagos refinery, part of a US$46 billion 2026-2028 expansion

Energy·Infrastructure· active The Long Game·Whose Money ·12 takes · ·rbtfl upd Jul 2, 2026

Summary

Aliko Dangote, Africa's wealthiest person, unveiled plans on June 29 to build a 2,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant, a urea fertiliser complex, a deepwater port and a 40-kilometre access road in Tanzania's southern Mtwara region after talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania's government has directed ministries to begin technical negotiations. Separately, the Republic of Congo's state oil company opened talks with the Dangote refinery in Nigeria's Lagos on a refined-fuel supply partnership. Both moves are part of a stated US$46 billion expansion of Dangote Industries' refining, cement and fertiliser business across Africa through 2028. The group's VP for oil and gas, Devakumar Edwin, said total African refining capacity is being targeted at 2.1 million barrels per day: 1.4 million bpd in Nigeria and a planned 700,000 bpd complex in Kenya serving East African markets. A US$400 million equipment supply deal with Chinese manufacturer XCMG has already been signed.

Why it matters

The Lagos refinery, which reached full production in 2024, is now competing directly with European and Middle Eastern refined-fuel suppliers across sub-Saharan Africa, ending the region's near-total dependence on imported refined products. Tanzania's planned urea plant would reduce East Africa's reliance on Russian, Moroccan and Saudi fertiliser. The pattern of African governments turning to pan-African capital for industrial infrastructure, rather than to Chinese or Western development finance, is a structural shift in how the continent is building out.

What to watch

  • Whether the Tanzania deal moves from technical discussions to signed investment agreements and on what timeline.
  • The Kenya 700,000 bpd complex: site selection and financing have not been announced.
  • Whether Congo's supply talks lead to a long-term off-take contract that displaces existing European suppliers.
  • How China-linked competitors, including state refiners and belt-and-road logistics players, respond.