Africa’s chemical storage terminals handle a combined liquid bulk capacity exceeding 200,000 m³ across a network of port-connected facilities that span the Mediterranean coast, the Gulf of Guinea, and Southern Africa’s deep-water ports. Demand is being driven by fertilizer production, phosphate processing, and a growing petrochemical import corridor that established players are rapidly expanding to serve. These are the top 10 chemical storage terminals in Africa in 2026, ranked by installed capacity, infrastructure quality, and strategic position within regional supply chains.
How We Ranked the Top 10 Chemical Storage Terminals in Africa
Rankings are based on three criteria: confirmed liquid bulk storage capacity, specialisation in chemical or hazardous product handling (as distinct from petroleum-only terminals), and port connectivity that enables import and export at scale. Terminals handling vegetable oils or edible products alongside industrial chemicals are included where their chemical handling infrastructure is significant. Petroleum-only terminals are excluded.
Top 10 Chemical Storage Terminals in Africa: The Ranked List
The ten facilities below represent the most capable dedicated chemical and liquid bulk storage infrastructure on the continent as of 2026. Several sit within broader Africa’s largest tank terminal networks, while others are standalone chemical logistics assets.
1. Alexandria Chemicals Bulk Terminal (ALXCT) — Egypt
ALXCT is the only specialised bulk chemical tank farm with direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, operating 26 above-ground storage tanks with a combined capacity of 54,850 m³. The terminal serves as the primary import gateway for industrial chemicals entering North Africa’s distribution network. Drumming and truck-loading infrastructure supports last-mile delivery into the Egyptian market. Its Mediterranean frontage — and proximity to the Suez corridor — makes it the most strategically positioned chemical storage terminals in Africa for European supply chains.
2. New Horizon Tank Terminal (NHTT) — Egypt
NHTT operates at Port Said on the northern approach to the Suez Canal, with 51,000 m³ of bulk chemical storage capacity. The terminal’s dual jetty configuration allows simultaneous discharge of two Panamax-class vessels — a throughput advantage that few chemical storage terminals in Africa can match. Its position at one of the world’s highest-traffic shipping crossroads gives importers and exporters direct access to East-West trade flows without port-call diversion.
3. Bidvest Tank Terminals (Richards Bay) — South Africa
Bidvest Tank Terminals at the Port of Richards Bay is one of Southern Africa’s principal chemical import and export facilities, with multi-product liquid terminal infrastructure covering hazardous chemicals, liquefied gases, and specialist base oils. The facility connects directly to rail, road, and deep-water sea lanes — a trimodal capability that makes it a preferred logistics hub for regional chemical distributors. Richards Bay is South Africa’s largest bulk export port by tonnage, giving this terminal outsized strategic value.
4. Vopak Terminal Durban — South Africa
Vopak Terminal Durban operates as a joint venture within Africa’s busiest liquid bulk port. The terminal handles chemical manufacturing feedstocks, plastics raw materials, and organic chemicals through partitioned storage infrastructure designed for strict product segregation. As part of Vopak’s global terminal network, this facility benefits from standardised safety protocols and direct access to the operator’s worldwide customer base — a differentiator for multinational chemical companies sourcing into the Southern African market.
5. Jorf Lasfar Chemical Terminal — Morocco
Jorf Lasfar is integrated into Morocco’s primary industrial port complex, built to serve the country’s dominant phosphate and fertilizer manufacturing sector. Large-scale bulk ammonia storage sits at the core of the terminal’s capacity — critical feedstock for fertilizer synthesis at the adjacent industrial facilities operated by OCP Group, the world’s largest phosphate exporter. Industrial acid handling rounds out a specialisation profile that reflects Morocco’s position as a global phosphate processing hub.
6. Liquid Bulk Tank Terminal (LPTT) — Egypt
LPTT operates at Adabiya Port, south of the Suez Canal, with 20,000 metric tonnes of storage capacity across 16 specialist tanks. The terminal supplies intermediate liquid chemical substances to the industrial corridor running through Suez — a concentration of heavy manufacturing that generates sustained demand for chemical feedstocks. Three Egyptian terminals appearing in this ranking reflects the country’s role as the continent’s largest chemical import and processing corridor.
7. Engen Terminal Durban (Converted Facility) — South Africa
Following the decommissioning of the Engen refinery in Durban, this asset was repurposed as a high-capacity bulk liquid import and storage terminal. The conversion has reoriented the facility towards industrial solvents, chemical intermediates, and fuel products serving Southern African markets. Converted refinery assets frequently deliver superior tank infrastructure relative to purpose-built import terminals — larger vessel berths, extensive pipework, and significant total storage footprint.
8. Notore Chemical Terminal (Onne) — Nigeria
Notore Chemical Terminal sits within the Onne Port Complex, the industrial logistics hub for West Africa’s chemical and fertilizer production sector. The terminal handles bulk ammonia, liquid urea, and agricultural chemical derivatives under pressurised containment — handling requirements that demand specialist infrastructure absent from most West African ports. Nigeria’s agricultural sector scale and the government’s domestic fertilizer push make Onne a strategically significant node within the continent’s chemical storage terminals network. This is a market examined further in our analysis of Africa’s downstream investment trends.
9. Gabes Chemical Terminal — Tunisia
Gabes Chemical Terminal, operated alongside the Groupe Chimique Tunisien, manages industrial chemical logistics for the Mediterranean basin’s North African supply chain. The facility handles corrosive chemicals, raw phosphorus derivatives, and liquid ammonia — a combination that places it firmly within the tier of specialist chemical storage terminals in Africa rather than general liquid bulk operations. Tunisia’s established position in the phosphate chemicals export chain underpins consistent throughput volumes.
10. Ambatovy Terminal (Toamasina) — Madagascar
Ambatovy Terminal in Toamasina was constructed specifically to support the Ambatovy nickel and cobalt mining project — one of the largest mining investments in African history. The facility provides bulk storage of ammonia and industrial sulphur required for high-pressure acid leaching in the metallurgical refining process. Its specialisation is narrow but operationally critical: without reliable ammonia and sulphur supply, the refinery cannot process ore. This mining-linked model is increasingly common as Africa’s critical minerals sector scales — a trend tracked in the Top 10 Chemical Logistics Companies 2026 ranking.
The Future of Chemical Storage Terminals in Africa: What to Watch in 2026
North Africa’s chemical storage infrastructure is expanding alongside Morocco’s phosphate export ambitions and Egypt’s push to develop Suez as a petrochemical processing corridor. In West Africa, Nigeria’s domestic fertilizer programme is driving investment in ammonia and urea handling capacity at ports that currently import the bulk of what the country consumes. Southern Africa’s converted petroleum assets — facilities like the Engen Durban terminal — represent a growing stock of repurposed infrastructure available for chemical logistics at capital cost well below greenfield development. The chemical storage terminals in Africa with the clearest growth trajectory in 2026 are those positioned at the intersection of agricultural inputs, fertilizer production, and critical minerals processing.
What is the largest chemical storage terminal in Africa?
The Alexandria Chemicals Bulk Terminal (ALXCT) in Egypt ranks first by dedicated chemical tank capacity, with 54,850 m³ across 26 above-ground tanks. It is the only specialised bulk chemical tank farm with direct Mediterranean Sea access, making it the primary import gateway for industrial chemicals entering North Africa.
How were the top 10 chemical storage terminals in Africa ranked?
Rankings are based on confirmed liquid bulk storage capacity, the degree of specialisation in chemical or hazardous product handling (excluding petroleum-only terminals), and port connectivity enabling import and export at scale. Terminals handling industrial chemicals alongside edible or vegetable oil products are included where their chemical infrastructure is significant.
Which countries have the most chemical storage terminals in Africa?
Egypt leads with three entries — ALXCT, NHTT, and LPTT — reflecting its role as the continent’s primary chemical import and processing corridor via the Suez route. South Africa accounts for two entries, and Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Madagascar each have one. Concentration in North and Southern Africa reflects port infrastructure maturity and proximity to industrial demand.
Does Africa have terminals specialised in ammonia storage?
Yes. Jorf Lasfar in Morocco, Notore Chemical Terminal in Nigeria, Gabes Chemical Terminal in Tunisia, and Ambatovy Terminal in Madagascar all include significant ammonia storage capacity. Ammonia handling is closely tied to fertilizer production and mining operations — the two industrial sectors driving chemical terminal investment across the continent in 2026.
What is driving investment in chemical storage terminals in Africa?
Three factors are driving investment: growth in domestic fertilizer production (particularly in Nigeria and Morocco), phosphate and petrochemical processing expansion along North Africa’s Mediterranean coast, and the scaling of critical minerals mining operations in Southern and East Africa that require industrial chemical feedstocks such as ammonia and sulphur.