Dangote refinery is game changing initiative for Africa – AfDB’s President
Oredola Adeola
The African Development Bank President, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina has described the $19.5 billion Dangote oil refinery and petrochemical plant projects as a “game-changing initiative” that will spur Africa’s development and deepen regional integration.
He made this known during a tour of the AfDB partially-funded project at the weekend.
He acknowledged that the complex will create 38,000 jobs during construction.
According to Adesina, “The Dangote group is an Africa growth accelerator. I am completely blown away by the magnitude of what I see here. This is a world-class industrial complex that will make Nigeria and Africa proud.
” We at the African Development Bank are proud of this project. Every African country needs to have an Aliko Dangote to help the continent industrialize.”
In his remark, Aliko Dangote, Dangote Group President who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of the refinery, said the facility has the capacity to meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirements for refined products with a surplus for export.
He said, “This is the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world, with 650,000 barrels per day. It is estimated that by 2023, Nigeria will import zero petroleum oil products – down from approximately $50 billion current oil product imports per year.
“The refinery includes a 440 millions liter water treatment tank farm and a housing estate built for 50,000 staff and their families onsite.
Dangote further said, “We appreciate the support of the Nigerian government, our lenders, and development finance institutions like the African Development Bank, without whom we would not have come this far. We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Bank and this visit further encourages us.”
Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Group’s Executive Director for Strategy, Capital Projects, and Portfolio Development, described the fertilizer plant as “Africa’s largest granulated urea fertilizer complex.”
He said the fertilizer facility has two production train lines, with each producing 2,200 tons of ammonia and 4,000 tons of granulated urea each day. The first train was built and deployed in the second quarter of 2021. More than 300,000 tons of urea have been produced and sold as of the fourth quarter of 2021, primarily to export markets. The second production train is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2022. The plant now makes Nigeria a net exporter of fertilizer.
Accompanying Adesina on the visit were African Development Bank vice president for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, the Bank’s director general for its Nigeria country office, Lamin Barrow, and the special adviser to the president on industrialization, Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka.
Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola also attended the meeting.
