Namibia is being positioned as a key fuel distribution hub for Southern Africa, as the Dangote Refinery, in partnership with the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), plans a 2 000-kilometre fuel pipeline stretching from Walvis Bay through Botswana to Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe.

The project forms part of a broader Pan-African financial strategy aimed at improving regional fuel logistics and reducing dependence on petroleum imports from outside the continent.

Senior Executive Vice President at Afreximbank, Denys Denya, says the institution’s strategy this year focuses on strengthening regional supply chains, and reducing reliance on imported petroleum products, this as the Middle East conflict poses a challenge to local fuel supply.

Denya adds that Afreximbank is working with governments and private sector partners to develop key infrastructure, including tank farms, pipelines, and transport fleets, which he says will help reduce fuel costs across the region.

“As the Bank, Afreximbank, has put in place $3 billion facility targeted at promoting intra-Africa trading fuels, we are working with Dangote to establish a tank farm in Walvis Bay in Namibia. That tank farm will enable countries such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia to get their fuel directly from Namibia, which is cheaper. “

–Channel Africa–