Urea Project Gets another Boost
Aliko Dangote has signed a $4.2bn, 25-year natural gas supply agreement with China’s GCL Group to fuel a planned large-scale urea fertiliser plant in Ethiopia, in a move that materially strengthens the project’s execution framework.
The gas deal is central to the economics and viability of the proposed complex, which is valued at $2.5bn and is being developed by Dangote Group (60%) and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (40%). The plant is targeted for completion by 2029.
For the urea market, the significance lies less in the headline partnership itself and more in what it signals: upstream gas supply is now being tied into the project structure. That gives the Ethiopia development greater strategic weight as a future regional nitrogen asset for local consumption and exports to India and other markets.
Once commissioned, the complex will gradually reduce Ethiopia’s urea import dependence, with the potential to reshape regional and global trade flows.
AFRIQOM Market Reporter
