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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Djibouti in Horn of Africa on track for spaceport following deal with Hong Kong firm, six years after opening of Chinese naval base

  • US$1 billion deal involves Hong Kong-based firm with mainland China operations and Touchroad, owned by Africa-focused Chinese investor He Liehui
  • Project in tiny nation of just over 1 million is evidence of the democratisation of space globally, Nigerian space scientist says

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President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti (at head of table) oversees the signing of an MOU with the Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group and Touchroad International Holdings to develop a US$1 billion commercial spaceport. Photo: Handout
Jevans Nyabiage
The tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, where China has vast commercial and military interests, could be set to host the continent’s first orbital spaceport.

This comes after Djibouti signed a US$1 billion preliminary deal with a Hong Kong-based firm to build satellite and rocket launching facilities, as the country banks on its proximity to the Equator to attract investments into the space industry.

Sitting at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti is a major linchpin in China’s maritime Belt and Road Initiative plans, and since 2017 has hosted China’s only overseas naval base to date.

A commercial spaceport will be built in Djibouti’s northern Obock region, under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a five-year project signed on January 9 with the Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group, in partnership with Touchroad International Holdings.

Hong Kong Aerospace Technology, which also has operations in mainland China, manufactures and launches satellites.

Touchroad is owned by Africa-focused Chinese investor He Liehui, who is the current vice-president of the Chinese African People’s Friendship Association. The company has built several factories and special economic zones around Africa, including in Djibouti.

“Djibouti is chosen to host this project … based on its geographical location close to the Equator, conducive for taking high definition shots in the satellite and aerospace rocket observation and analysis missions,” the Djiboutian government said after the MOU was signed, with the formal contract to be signed in March.

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