Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the first phase of the Ogaden Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Calub.
The multipurpose facility is designed to produce 111 million liters of gas and generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
Ahmed also laid the foundation for the second phase of the project, which will have a larger annual capacity of 1.3 billion liters.
In addition, he announced a $2.5 billion fertilizer plant to be built in partnership with Dangote Group, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Under their August agreement, Ethiopia will hold a 40% stake, while Dangote Group will own 60%. The plant aims to produce three million tons of fertilizer each year.
The Prime Minister also kicked off construction of a $2.5 billion oil refinery project to be developed by a Chinese company. Once completed, the refinery will process about 70,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Gode Oil Refinery will draw crude oil from Ethiopia’s Hilala oil field.
Although completion dates remain unspecified, government spokesperson Billene Seyoum stated that the initial phases should be finalized within 24 months.
With over 135 million citizens, Ethiopia ranks as Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria, which has more than 230 million people.
Ahmed said these projects will strengthen Ethiopia’s industrialization drive by advancing energy independence, fertilizer production, and food security—while also enhancing the country’s global standing.
The announcement follows Ethiopia’s recent commissioning of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Africa’s largest hydropower facility, which can produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
source: www.trtafrika.com
African Energy Council