Dangote Regrets Dabbling Into N40bn Refinery Project

Africa’s richest man and industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, may be regretting his investment decision on a N40bn Refinery Project.

He said he would not have attempted his $20 billion refinery, if he knew the magnitude of the facility.

Speaking while receiving a delegation from Lagos branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, one of the world’s richest men confessed that the scale of the refinery beat his initial expectations

He said: “Honestly, if we had fully understood the magnitude and challenges involved, we may not have even attempted it, but it is because we didn’t know what we were into initially and the courage, or maybe, naivety that got us this far.”

He noted that the N40bn refinery project was designed to handle massive volumes, with up to 600 product vessels and about 240 crude oil tankers expected annually.

He listed the initial challenges of birthing the refinery thus:

1. extensive land clearing
2. working on swampy terrain,
3. dredging 65 million cubic metres of sand from 20 kilometres offshore
4. challenge of trying to protect local fishing communities

“We had to uproot thousands of trees manually. Sand-filling alone took 18 months but we made a deliberate decision to preserve the livelihoods of those living nearby, especially fishermen,” he said.

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Providing his perspective of use of local expertise on projects like that, Dangote stated:

“There are many more projects coming, and with them, we will continue to develop our engineering base.

“Even when we don’t have enough jobs to give, we must still train people.

“Skills are assets, whether they are used here or abroad.

“We want Nigeria to earn from exporting knowledge, not just oil.”

“Eighty-five per cent of the commissioning work was done by Nigerians. It is not because I am an engineer but because they have proven to be among the best.

“Today, we are building this country ourselves,” he said.

He urged members of NSE branch to see the visit as a step toward aligning with a national vision of self-sufficiency and industrial excellence.