OCP, Ethiopia build US$3.7bn fertiliser plant

MOROCCAN phosphate and fertiliser firm OCP has signed a partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Public Enterprise to build a US$3.7bn fertiliser plant in Ethiopia.

The Dire Dawa Fertiliser Plant will use raw materials from Africa, with potash and ammonia gas coming from Ethiopia itself and phosphoric acid sourced from OCP in Morocco. It will be built in two phases. The first phase, costing US$2.4bn, will produce 2.5m t/y of fertiliser by 2022. The second US$1.3bn phase will ramp up production to 3.8m t/y by 2025. The final complex will be made up of nine production units.

The plant will not only make Ethiopia self-sufficient in fertiliser production, but provide an excess that can be exported to neighbouring countries. Ethiopia is building a new railway connection which will help give easy access to other markets. The fertilisers will be competitively priced and customised to the soils and crops of the region, benefitting African farmers.

OCP describes the partnership as “game-changing” and says that it is based on a vision shared by Morocco and Ethiopia for sustainable agricultural development across Africa.