According to Bloomberg, the application to authorities last month called for the construction of “Nigeria’s largest and deepest port” in Olokola.
Aliko Dangote is pushing ahead with a proposal to build a seaport in Ogun State to boost exports of products such as liquefied natural gas.
Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing an interview with Africa’s richest man, that the move is expected to accelerate the expansion of Dangote’s conglomerate.
The paper said the application submitted to authorities last month called for the construction of “Nigeria’s largest and deepest port” at Orokola.
Follow us on WhatsApp | Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest headlines
The free trade zone was originally considered as a home for Mr Dangote’s giant oil refinery and petrochemical plant, now located on the outskirts of Lagos, until an impasse with the government thwarted the plan.
The port is intended to connect Dangote Group’s logistics and export operations in Lagos, including the Lekki deep sea port, which currently transports petroleum products and fertilizers overseas.
“We don’t want to do everything ourselves, but I think it will encourage other entrepreneurs to get involved,” Bloomberg quoted Dangote as saying.
Betting on LNG exports requires the construction of a pipeline from the Niger Delta to Lagos, an ambitious initiative aimed at overtaking Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) as Africa’s largest LNG exporter.
“We want to do large projects that will bring in more gas than what NLNG is currently doing,” said Devakumar Edwin, vice president of the group.
“We know where there is a lot of gas, so we will run pipelines and bring it to the coast,” he added.
The group exports fertilizer to the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India, and recently revealed its desire to set up a fertilizer factory in Ethiopia, which would help develop production capacity in Africa’s second most populous country.
Related article: I doubt whether Nigeria’s refineries will work – Dangote
Still, its ambitions are much greater, given its plans to overthrow Qatar as the largest urea producer within the next 40 months and make Africa self-sufficient in fertilizers within the same period.
The continent’s largest refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is scheduled to start operations in 2024 after years of construction delays.
Storage tanks are being built in Namibia to hold at least 1.6 million liters of petrol and diesel.
Dangote hopes to list the petrochemical business on the local stock exchange in Lagos this year and the refinery on the stock exchange next year.
