In a move poised to reshape Africa’s fertiliser landscape and bolster continental food security, the Dangote Group has awarded a series of high-value engineering and technology contracts to four world-renowned firms: Engineers India Limited (EIL), Italy’s Saipem, Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe, and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Uhde Fertilizer Technology (UFT). The contracts cover the next phase of a massive urea and ammonia capacity expansion in Nigeria as well as the construction of an entirely new greenfield fertiliser complex in Ethiopia.
At the heart of the initiative is a dramatic tripling of Dangote’s urea production capacity in Nigeria, from the current three million metric tons per annum (mtpa) to an impressive nine million mtpa. The existing Dangote Fertilizer Plant in Lekki, Lagos — already Africa’s largest single-train urea facility — currently operates two 1.5 mtpa urea trains commissioned in 2022. The new expansion will add four additional urea trains of comparable or larger size, bringing the total site capacity to approximately 9 million tons of urea annually once all phases are completed. When fully operational, the expanded Lekki complex will rank among the top five largest urea production hubs in the world.
Parallel to the Nigerian expansion, Dangote recently broke ground on a $2.5 billion integrated urea-ammonia fertiliser plant in Gode, in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State. The new Ethiopian facility, expected to come online in phases starting from 2028, will have a nameplate capacity of three million metric tons of urea per year, supported by dedicated ammonia production. The project represents one of the largest single industrial investments ever made in Ethiopia and is being developed in partnership with the Ethiopian government under a public-private partnership framework.
To deliver these landmark projects, Dangote has assembled a best-in-class international consortium:
- Haldor Topsoe (Denmark) has been awarded ammonia technology licensing and full process design packages for six ammonia synthesis plants in total — four in Nigeria and two in Ethiopia. Topsoe’s proprietary SynCOR™ and low-carbon ammonia technologies are expected to ensure high energy efficiency and significantly lower carbon intensity compared to conventional plants.
- Saipem (Italy) will provide urea synthesis and melt technology licensing plus complete process design packages for all six urea plants (four in Nigeria, two in Ethiopia). Saipem’s proven urea technology, which dominates a large share of global installed capacity, will enable the plants to achieve high on-stream factors and superior product quality.
- Thyssenkrupp Uhde Fertilizer Technology (Germany) will supply urea granulation technology licenses and detailed process design packages for the granulation sections of all six plants. The German firm’s fluid-bed granulation process is widely regarded as the gold standard for producing premium-grade, dust-free urea granules that command higher market prices both domestically and internationally.
- Engineers India Limited (EIL), a leading Indian public-sector engineering consultancy, has been appointed as the Project Management Consultant (PMC) and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) consultant for the four new fertiliser trains at the Dangote Fertilizer Free Zone Enterprise (DFFZE) complex in Lekki, Nigeria. EIL’s extensive track record in executing mega-scale refinery and petrochemical projects in India and abroad made it the preferred choice for overseeing front-end engineering design (FEED), detailed engineering, and construction supervision.
The combined scope of work across these contracts is estimated to exceed several hundred million dollars, although exact figures have not been disclosed.
When completed, the Nigerian and Ethiopian projects will raise Dangote’s total controlled urea capacity to 12 million metric tons per year — making the Group the undisputed leader in African fertiliser production and one of the top ten urea producers globally. More importantly, the expanded output is expected to play a pivotal role in reducing Africa’s chronic dependence on imported fertilisers, which currently account for over 80 percent of the continent’s consumption despite soaring global prices and supply-chain disruptions.
The initiatives align closely with Nigeria’s and Ethiopia’s national agricultural transformation agendas. In Nigeria, increased local urea availability is projected to lower farm-gate fertiliser prices by 25–40 percent, directly benefiting millions of smallholder farmers and supporting President Bola Tinubu’s food security emergency declaration. In Ethiopia, the Gode plant will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in one of the country’s most underdeveloped regions while supplying affordable fertiliser to Ethiopian farmers striving to boost yields of teff, maize, and wheat.
Beyond immediate economic impacts, the projects incorporate state-of-the-art environmental features. The new ammonia plants will utilise Topsoe’s latest energy-efficient catalysts and carbon-capture-ready designs, while Saipem and Thyssenkrupp technologies will minimise water consumption and effluent discharge. Dangote has also committed to progressively integrating green or blue ammonia pathways in future phases as renewable energy and carbon capture technologies mature.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest individual and Chairman of the Dangote Group, described the expansion as “a continental game-changer that will help feed Africa and end the era of fertiliser scarcity.” He emphasised that the partnerships with EIL, Saipem, Topsoe, and Thyssenkrupp guarantee world-class assets built to the highest international standards of safety, reliability, and environmental performance.
Construction activities for the four new Nigerian trains are already underway, with the first new train targeted for mechanical completion by late 2027. The Ethiopian project is in the detailed engineering phase, with major equipment orders expected to be placed in 2026.
With these developments, Dangote Fertilizer is not merely expanding capacity — it is cementing its position as the backbone of a new, self-reliant African agricultural value chain, one urea granule at a time.
