Tanzania is seeking new investments from Dangote Group in fertilizer, energy and industrial infrastructure as the government looks to expand domestic production and strengthen its position as a manufacturing hub in East Africa.

The Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Planning and Investment, Prof. Kitila Mkumbo, disclosed the plans during a recent visit by a Tanzanian delegation to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos.

In a statement Sunday, Mkumbo said the visit was intended to advance talks between the Tanzanian government and Dangote Group over possible new projects in the country.

The discussions follow an earlier meeting between Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Ltd., on potential investments by the Nigerian conglomerate.

“We have come here to make a follow-up on what they deliberated with our president in terms of further Dangote investments in Tanzania,” Mkumbo said.

Tanzania targets fertilizer, energy projects

Dangote Group has identified several potential projects in Tanzania, including a 2,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant, a urea fertilizer plant, port development and a 40-kilometer concrete access road.

The company already has a major industrial presence in Tanzania through its cement business. Its cement plant, regarded as the country’s largest, represents an investment of about $800 million.

For Tanzania, the next phase of cooperation is focused on areas that could have a direct impact on agriculture, energy supply and industrial production.

Mkumbo said the government was particularly interested in Dangote’s experience in fertilizer manufacturing and refinery operations, describing both sectors as important to Tanzania’s industrial development.

The push for local fertilizer production also comes as Tanzania seeks to raise agricultural output, cut reliance on imports and build supply chains that can serve markets across East Africa.

That fits with Dangote’s wider plans for the fertilizer business. In April, Dangote said the group planned to establish about 20 fertilizer blending plants across Africa by 2028 as it expands production closer to farmers and regional markets.

Refining seen as key to energy security

Mkumbo also used the visit to make a broader case for greater industrial cooperation among African countries.

He said the continent needed to move beyond political cooperation and focus more closely on manufacturing, energy and trade. Greater collaboration, he added, would support the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area by allowing more goods to be produced and traded within the continent.

“Africa now needs economic liberation, and that can only come through industrialisation,” Mkumbo said. Energy was another major part of the discussions.

The minister stressed the importance of increasing refining capacity in Africa, particularly as global oil markets remain vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions.

He pointed to the impact of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz on international oil prices, arguing that more refining capacity on the continent could help African economies reduce their exposure to shocks in global energy markets.

The Dangote refinery in Lagos, which has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels a day, has become a major part of Nigeria’s effort to process more crude locally. For other African countries, the refinery is also being watched as an example of how large-scale private investment can change regional fuel supply.

Mkumbo said reliable and affordable energy was essential to economic development and that expanding refining capacity could help lower energy costs and improve living standards.

Dangote weighs wider East African expansion

The talks with Tanzania come as Dangote Group considers further expansion of its refining business in East Africa.

Dangote plans to use part of the $5 billion expected from the proposed primary listing of his refinery on the Nigerian Exchange to increase processing capacity at the Lagos facility and develop a refinery in Kenya.

Dangote Industries said in June that commercial and technical considerations had influenced its decision to locate the proposed Kenyan refinery in Lamu. The group has also invited Tanzania to participate in the investment.

The planned Lamu refinery has since grown in scale, with proposed processing capacity of about 700,000 barrels of crude a day. The project could take as long as three years to build.

Dangote has said talks with the Kenyan government have advanced and that construction of the estimated $16 billion refinery could begin as early as October.

Tanzania seeks broader Dangote investments

For Tanzania, the interest in Dangote extends beyond a single project. The government is looking to attract capital and technical expertise that can support agriculture, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure while creating stronger links with neighboring economies.

Mkumbo described Dangote as one of Africa’s leading industrialists and said Tanzania wanted to work more closely with the group as it seeks to expand manufacturing capacity.

The latest visit therefore forms part of a wider effort by Tanzania to turn discussions with Dangote Group into projects that can deliver jobs, local production and new industrial capacity.

For Dangote, the talks offer another potential market as the group looks beyond its established cement, fertilizer and refining operations in Nigeria and builds a larger presence across Africa.