The refinery and fertilizer projects of Dangote Industries Limited is expected to create a minimum of 235,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect jobs, as it becomes operational in the first quarter of 2019.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote stated that the projects would cost a minimum of $17 billion. He said the $12 billion refinery would have a capacity of 650,000 barrels a day.
He assured that there will be market for the refined products because even in Africa, only three countries have effective functioning refinery with others importing from abroad.
“Our refinery will be ready in the first quarter of 2019. Mechanical completion will be end of 2018 but we will start producing in 2019.”
When the projects fully take off in 2019, Dangote said it would help the country save $5 billion spent on the importation of oil into the country. According to him, the refinery, petrochemicals and fertiliser in one spot is the single largest stream in the world.
“This site is the biggest site in the world, the refinery is the biggest single refinery in the world, the petrochemicals is 13 times bigger than Eleme Petrochemicals while the fertilizer plant will be 10 times bugger than former National Fertilizer Company.
Dangote explained that the project with the $2 billion fertilizer unit was funded through loans, export credit agencies and our own equity. He further stated that the diversification of Nigeria economy was long over-due and that one sector that Nigeria can focus on to rejuvenate the economy is agriculture.
He stated that his investment in fertilizer is one sure way the diversification into agriculture could succeed because it will amount to little if focus is directed to agriculture and fertilizers would be imported.
Dangote said the project was an ambitious one and that when completed it will give Nigeria a new economic direction in the quest for diversification of the economy, as excess products would be imported to give Nigeria the much needed foreign exchange. That is when diversification starts.
