Construction of Phase I of the Doraleh Oil Storage Terminal in Djibouti Advances, with 288,000 Cubic Meters Planned

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The oil storage and logistics terminal of African Terminal & Logistics Services (ATLS) at the Doraleh Multipurpose Port in Djibouti has entered the tank installation stage. Phase I of the project is planned to have a storage capacity of approximately 288,000 cubic meters and is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in June 2027; the subsequent Phase II is planned to expand the storage capacity to approximately 500,000 cubic meters, and the long-term overall scale can be further increased to approximately 788,000 cubic meters.

The ATLS terminal adopts a multi-product oil storage scheme. According to EPC documents, the Phase I construction scope includes 8 storage tanks, road tanker loading facilities, a rail loading system, product transfer pumps, a metering system, a firefighting system, electrical and instrumentation and control systems, as well as site drainage, roads, and supporting buildings. The engineering scope disclosed by EPC contractor Chemie-Tech is 285,000 cubic meters of installed storage capacity, with a project site of approximately 21 hectares, and it is currently in the construction stage.

The project also plans three types of logistics interfaces: marine unloading, road outbound transport, and rail loading. The terminal is equipped with multiple ship unloading lines that can transport incoming oil products directly to storage tanks; on the land side, multiple tanker loading positions are configured, and dedicated rail loading arms are planned for organizing refined product transport toward the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway. The tank products in the current scheme include gasoline, fuel oil, aviation kerosene, and diesel.

The ATLS project was previously still in the site selection and scheme study stage. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority disclosed in 2025 that ATLS had evaluated oil storage project sites between the Damerjog Industrial Park and the Doraleh Multipurpose Port, with a long-term static storage target of approximately 750,000 cubic meters. The latest engineering progress shows that the project has been located at Doraleh and has entered physical tank construction.

The existing port area of the Doraleh Multipurpose Port is already directly connected to the Djibouti-Addis Ababa Railway. In February 2026, the Ethiopia-Djibouti Joint Railway Committee also proposed accelerating the further railway connection to the Doraleh Multipurpose Port and the existing oil terminal. The subsequent milestones of the ATLS project will focus on the construction of storage tanks and supporting systems, the installation of rail loading facilities, system commissioning, and preparations for the commissioning of Phase I in June 2027.