As the federal government confirms the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery on May 22, the founder of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has stated that Nigeria stands to benefit from over $20bn annually when the facility comes on stream.
Speaking on a special edition of the London-based The Economist Magazine, on ‘The World Ahead 2023,’ Dangote stated that the facility would help the country save $10bn as well as earn $10bn annually.
He said: “The refinery’s production of critical products like naphtha and polypropylene will stimulate the development of other industries, such as cosmetics, plastics, and textiles. Refineries on this scale could save Nigeria up to $10 billion in foreign exchange and generate approximately $10 billion from exports.”
Dangote further stated that the refinery would lead to skills transfer and technology acquisition opportunities that would be of benefit to the downstream sector while also creating thousands of jobs.
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“Nigeria has a variety of untapped natural resources, which for commodity-driven investors, offer options in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments. Its vast arable land and favourable climatic conditions similarly support a wide range of crops, positioning it as an auspicious destination for agriculture-based investments.
He noted that Nigeria’s import dependency and reliance on foreign markets present major prospects for import substitution and supply chain localisation.
“We see room for development of added value in agribusiness too. Here, initiatives like our Sugar Backward Integration Projects look to create a strong localised supply in the sugar industry. With a goal to produce around 0.5 million tons of sugar per annum from locally grown sugar cane, benefits will be created across the sugar value chain for local suppliers,” he added.
“Sub-Saharan Africa presents an opportunity for expansion, as its population is projected to grow from 1.1 billion to over 2.1 billion by 2050, with two thirds of this growth in urban areas. Nigeria currently has an installed cement production capacity of about 54m tons/pa, which exceeds local demand and so a lot of this can be exported across Africa.”
