A 550km, $1.55 billion pipeline project is being undertaken by the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti to transport diesel, petrol and jet fuel from the port of Djibouti to Awash in central Ethiopia.

The pipeline will help cater to both countries’ rapidly increasing demand for refined products, alleviating the pressure on the current on-road fuel transportation systems.

“The project is now in the set-up phase, with the design and procurement processes taking place over the coming months. The project will address both the planned growth in demand and the short and long term fuel delivery problems in Ethiopia,” says Mark Haselau, Turner & Townsend director: Energy.

“The challenge in this ground-breaking project lies in overcoming the logistical, infrastructural and regulatory issues presented on the African continent – for example, the physical importation and transportation of materials to the various sites and laydown areas,” explains Haselau.

Set to help boost economic growth, the Horn of Africa pipeline, ship-offloading facilities and storage should have a transporting capability of more than 240 000 barrels of fuel per day.

The pipeline will include a 20-inch steel overland pipeline from Damerjog through to Awash in Ethiopia, complete with pump and monitoring stations, as well as a buffer storage tank farm at Damerjog. This is linked to a terminal bulk storage tank farm and truck loading facility at Awash as well as offloading infrastructure in Djibouti.