DJIBOUTI — A company owned by Salaam Group has launched construction of a major $160 million fuel and logistics terminal in Djibouti, a project that signals growing competition to control the flow of energy and trade across one of Africa’s most strategically important corridors.
The project, developed by Fuelstor, is being built in Damerjog, a coastal area increasingly emerging as a key industrial and logistics zone in Djibouti. Once completed, the facility is expected to store and redistribute fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and edible oil to markets across East Africa and the Horn of Africa.
The scale of the investment is significant.
According to the statement, the project represents a capital injection of about DJF 30 billion and will sit on 22 hectares of land. The terminal is designed with a projected storage capacity of 400,000 metric tons, positioning it among the region’s larger energy storage facilities.
In practical terms, the terminal is intended to function as a major supply hub where fuel and other commodities can be imported, stored and redistributed efficiently to inland markets.
That is critical because East Africa’s growing economies are becoming increasingly dependent on reliable fuel supply chains to support transport, manufacturing, electricity generation and industrial expansion.
Djibouti occupies an especially strategic position in that system.
Located along one of the world’s busiest maritime routes near the Red Sea, the country has increasingly positioned itself as a gateway connecting global shipping lanes to landlocked and rapidly growing markets such as Ethiopia. Its ports and logistics infrastructure now play a critical role in regional trade movement.
The Fuelstor project reflects a broader trend unfolding across Africa: countries and private investors are racing to build energy and logistics infrastructure capable of handling rising demand while protecting supply chains from global disruptions.
Recent geopolitical tensions, especially in the Middle East, shipping disruptions and fluctuating fuel markets have exposed how vulnerable many African economies remain to supply shocks.
Fuel storage terminals help address part of that problem by creating reserve capacity and improving distribution efficiency.
“This project represents a defining milestone for Fuelstor and a significant step forward for the region’s energy and logistics landscape,” said Houssein Ahmed Houmed, the company’s general manager. “Fuelstor Terminal is uniquely positioned to become a key gateway connecting global supply markets to growing demand across East Africa.”
Beyond fuel storage, the project is also expected to strengthen Djibouti’s ambitions to become a regional logistics powerhouse.
The facility is a “multimodal infrastructure” platform, meaning it is designed to integrate different forms of transport and logistics systems to improve the movement of commodities across trade routes.
For ordinary consumers, projects like these can seem distant from daily life. But fuel infrastructure directly affects transport costs, trade efficiency and the price of goods moving across borders.
More efficient storage and supply systems can help reduce shortages, stabilise supply chains and improve distribution reliability, especially during periods of global market volatility.
The construction phase itself is expected to generate local economic activity and create hundreds of jobs. The work is being led by international engineering firm Somagec.
The investment also highlights the expanding regional footprint of Salaam Group, whose portfolio already includes Salaam Bank Uganda, Salaam Investment Bank, Salaam Microfinance Bank in Kenya and operations in South Sudan and Malaysia.
For Uganda, the development reflects the increasingly regional nature of East African business expansion, where financial institutions and infrastructure companies are no longer operating strictly within national borders but are positioning themselves across interconnected trade corridors.
What happens next will depend largely on construction timelines, regional demand growth and the ability of the terminal to integrate efficiently into East Africa’s wider supply networks.
But the broader significance is already clear.
As Africa’s economies industrialise and urban populations grow, control over logistics infrastructure, fuel storage and trade routes is becoming as strategically important as the commodities themselves.