Dangote Drives Nigeria's Economic Diversification Intitiative

Dangote Refinery drives Nigeria’s economic diversification initiative

with twelve billion dollars investment in crude oil refining, petrochemicals, fertilizers and gas.

While the entire refinery is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019, the gas system would be delivered in 2018.

Billed to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily, the Dangote refinery will not only meet domestic demand, but also have a lot more refined petroleum products to export to other countries.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote said the overall objective was to transform the country into a manufacturing and exporting country, for massive job creation for citizens, thus enhancing the living standards of the masses.

“This projects that we are doing are part of projects to diversify the economy of Nigeria and they are the largest projects anywhere in the World , be it fertilizer, gas pipelines, the petrochemicals and also the oil refinery. This is the largest single line in the World”

In addition to crude oil refining, the Dangote refinery also has a petrochemical section which is said to be 13 times that in Eleme, Rivers State.

Its fertilizer plant, is estimated to produce 5 million tons of fertilizer per annum, also about the largest in the World.

Alhaji Dangote shed more light on the refinery covering a landmass that is 8 times the size of Victoria Island.

``We are putting in 65 million cubic meters of sand and that was why we brought in three dredgers, two of which are the biggest in the world.

``This place is  eight times the size of Victorial Island," he said.

On allegations of conflict with the host community, he said there are no issues, noting that the past issues were between two communities and the state government.

``We did not buy the land from communities, we bought our land (swamp) at $100 million and the filling up the swamp to become solid land is costing us another $420 million”.

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who went round the site with a long list of Federal and State Government functionary, business moguls and red cap chiefs to inspect the facilities, lauded the Africa’s Richest Man, Alhaji Dankote for the noble venture.

The Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo while inspecting the project the site in Ibeju Lekki , Lagos, described it as the most important project in the country.

``The project is an incredible industrial undertaking and possibly the largest investment ambitious in the continent today. I think it is inspiring.

``The refinery would start production in the first quarter of 2019. The subsea gas pipeline, which is an important and strategic project, is meant to take off in 2018," he said.

The refinery is expected to service 26,716 filling stations and 129 depots, as well as has 60,000 project sites.

It is billed to create jobs in the tune of 1,500 employees, and over 100,000 indirect employments.



It is going to have 86 loading bays and 2,650 trucks per day.

For the host community, it would ensure enhanced infrastructural development and job for indigenes.

In Lagos Innocent Onoh Reporting