Nigerian billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and regional pipeline project in Namibia, in a major expansion of his energy business into Southern Africa.

The project, unveiled on Wednesday in Walvis Bay, is expected to strengthen fuel supply security, reduce transportation costs and establish Namibia as a regional petroleum distribution hub.

Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah attended the launch ceremony, where Dangote said the infrastructure would help address high shipping costs and energy security challenges in the region.

The project will include a fuel storage facility with a capacity of approximately 600 million litres, equivalent to four million barrels. The facility will hold 360 million litres of diesel and 240 million litres of petrol.

Dangote said the project is expected to be completed within 18 to 20 months. Once operational, the storage facility will have eight times the capacity of Namibia's existing 75-million-litre National Oil Storage Facility.

The planned infrastructure also includes a 1,700-kilometre pipeline network that could connect Namibia to landlocked countries including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and potentially the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The network is expected to facilitate the movement of refined petroleum products from Dangote's Nigerian refinery to markets across Southern Africa, improving access to fuel for countries heavily dependent on imports.

The final pipeline route and length will depend on engineering studies, route surveys and regulatory approvals.

The investment is part of Dangote's broader strategy to expand fuel production, storage and distribution across Africa. He already operates a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Nigeria and is pursuing plans to establish another refinery in Kenya.

The Namibian project is expected to diversify markets for Dangote's refined fuel exports while strengthening regional energy cooperation and reducing dependence on longer and more expensive supply routes.