East Africa’s $420m synthetic fuel project aims to rival Dangote in Africa’s jet fuel market

Tanzania is edging closer to launching one of its most transformative industrial projects, the development of a gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant that will locally produce diesel, jet fuel, naptha, hydrogen, and fertilizer posing as a major challenger to Dangote’s empire.

The planned $420 million investment could position Tanzania as Africa’s first exporter of synthetic jet fuel and diesel, capitalising on its 57.54 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Representatives of Rocky Mountain GTL, after meetings with Tanzanian government officials earlier this year, said detailed commercial collaboration is already underway.

“They have agreed to share detailed information regarding the market and gas resources now and in the future, as well as conduct a feasibility study that will lead to the construction of the plant,” Rithi Tanzania Group executives Martin Kaswahili, Jack Pemba, and Hassan Nganzo told The Citizen.

“Once the project is up and running, Rocky Mountain GTL’s technology will supply Tanzania with diesel and jet fuel and will also be able to produce naphtha,” they added.

According to the firm, the upgraded energy supply chain will also cut costs for local airlines. “It will give airlines quick access to jet fuel and be more cost effective, making Tanzanian airlines more competitive,” the company said.

It added that hydrogen exports to Europe and Asia could unlock a new high-value market for Tanzania. “The hydrogen market has unlimited demand.”

The shift could reshape jet-fuel trade in Africa, where Dangote’s rapidly expanding refinery and distribution network currently dominates supply.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, the largest single-train refinery in the world has begun exporting aviation kerosene to African carriers and beyond, a move geared toward controlling pricing and logistics from West Africa and beyond.

Tanzania’s entry threatens that market power. By reducing dependence on refined imports including Nigerian-sourced jet fuel, the GTL plant provides East Africa with an alternative hub for supply and pricing.

If scaling succeeds, surplus fuel could be exported regionally, giving airlines in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of the DRC a geographically closer, potentially cheaper option.

TPDC Director General Mussa Makame described the investment as critical to Tanzania’s long-term industrialisation agenda. “This is a unique and strategic project for Tanzania, and we are convinced of its value,” he said. “If all goes well, we will begin by producing jet fuel locally, eliminating the need for imports.”

The Tanzanian government has already sent a high-level due-diligence team to validate the technology and assess rollout readiness. The modular GTL design enables faster commissioning within two years, far quicker than conventional refineries requiring five to seven years.

Petroleum products accounted for $2.6 billion in import spending last year according to the Bank of Tanzania, intensifying pressure to secure domestic alternatives. Local financiers are now lobbying for priority participation to ensure Tanzanian businesses retain majority economic benefit.

If operational by 2027, the project could mark a new power centre in Africa’s aviation-fuel supply chain, turning Tanzania into an exporter and giving Dangote, long seen as unchallenged at continental scale, a formidable competitor in a market essential to global aviation.