Africa's wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote, is advancing with his plans to build a state-of-the-art seaport in Ogun State. This project aims to boost Nigeria's export potential, especially for commodities such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In an exclusive interview reported by Bloomberg on Monday, Dangote disclosed that his conglomerate has recently applied to Nigerian authorities for permission to construct "the biggest, deepest port in Nigeria" at Olokola, a coastal region in Ogun.
The planned Olokola seaport is anticipated to greatly enhance Dangote Group's export strategy and create new opportunities for international trade.
The free trade zone was originally intended to host Mr. Dangote's massive oil refinery and petrochemical plant; however, a deadlock with the government ultimately led to the relocation of these facilities to the outskirts of Lagos.
The port is designed to facilitate the Dangote Group's logistics and export activities in Lagos, including its operations at Lekki Deep Sea Port, which currently serves as a hub for shipping petroleum products and fertilizers internationally.
"We don’t necessarily want to handle everything on our own, but I believe taking this approach will inspire other entrepreneurs to get involved," Mr. Dangote was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
Investing in LNG exports involves constructing pipelines stretching from the Niger Delta to Lagos, a bold initiative aimed at surpassing Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) to become Africa's largest LNG exporter.
Devakumar Edwin, a vice president of the group, stated, "Our aim is to undertake a significant project that will deliver more gas than NLNG currently supplies."
"We've identified significant gas reserves in the area, so we're planning to lay a pipeline through it and transport the gas to the shore," he added.
The group exports fertilizer to the US, Brazil, Mexico, and India. Additionally, it has recently announced plans to establish a fertilizer plant in Ethiopia to aid Africa's second most populous nation in enhancing its production capacity.
The goal, however, extends far beyond this. There are plans to surpass Qatar as the leading producer of urea within the next 40 months and simultaneously achieve self-sufficiency in fertilizer production across Africa during that period.
The continent's largest refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, commenced operations in 2024 following years of construction delays.
Plans are underway for constructing storage tanks in Namibia that will have a capacity of at least 1.6 million liters to hold petrol and diesel.
Mr. Dangote plans to list the petrochemical business on Lagos's local stock exchange this year and aims to have the refinery listed on the bourse next year.
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