Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeBusinessDangote Refinery: Raising hope for the economy

Dangote Refinery: Raising hope for the economy

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has promised to support local and foreign investors interested in investing in the economy. The CBN team led by its Governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed this during an assessment tour of the Dangote Refinery, Fertilizer Plant and Petrochemical Company  Limited in Lagos at the weekend. The  refinery, expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2021 and the Fertilizer Plant in May 2020 will enable the country earn more foreign exchange and provide employment opportunities to over 70,000 Nigerians.

Credible investors are paramount in achieving sustained economic growth. For Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has encouraged local and foreign investors to explore investment opportunities in the country and enjoy government protection for their businesses.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed government commitment to empowering entrepreneurs at the weekend during an  assessment tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Fertilizer Plant and Petrochemical Company Limited in Ibeju-Lekki Lagos, urged entrepreneurs to embrace the opportunity presented by low interest rate regime to borrow and grow their businesses. 

“We want to support any foreigner or Nigerian that finds Nigeria as a good investment destination. We support the person through the banking sector and foreign exchange allocations. Government stands ready to give them the needed protection and support they want. We have also insisted that banks must be catalyst for development. But the banks also need credible people to lend to. If we look at the number of debtors in the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria -AMCON list, most of them are Nigerians. Banks need credible people to come out and be counted in this journey,” the CBN boss said.

He said that Dangote Refinery will begin operation in the first quarter of 2021, and will help the country earn more foreign exchange. Speaking on the refinery, he said: “Tell those shouting that the refinery project is a fluke that latest, first quarter of next year, we will crank it and petrol will be coming out from it. 

Emefiele said President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote should be commended for his determination and large heart to support the economy through massive investments.

He said he was at the site in 2016, 2019 and presently to see the level of progress of the three projects-  Fertilizer, petrochemical and refinery. 

He said the projects were at $9 billion when they were started five years ago, and is presently around $15 billion after currency adjustments and some other things added, that were not anticipated at inception.

Stakeholders laud projects 

Abdulkreem Ibrahim, a Kano-based former said the Dangote Fertilizer  Limited which begins operation in May will save a lot of forex for government and protect farmers from fraudsters that have continuously defrauded them for years.

He said challenges faced by farmers in accessing fertilizer are enormous. From long queues when the products are available to long distances before one can buy, it has been herculean experiences for all local farmers.

“With the coming on Dangote Fertilizer plant, I understand that there will be fertilizer shops across the country where farmers can easily buy the product. I also expect the prices of the product to come down as demand rises,” he said.

He said  $2 billion Dangote Fertiliser Limited – Granulated Urea Fertiliser  complex located in the Dangote Free Zone in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos is one of the investments expected to turn around the agricultural sector for good. “I think the plant will help farmers achieve their vision of improved yields and profitability.  

He said the project, which is targeted at creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs in construction and related fields, will provide a major boost to the agricultural sector by significantly reducing the importation of fertiliser in Nigeria and ultimately removing the need for imports when plant is in full production.

Experts insist that  by the time our plant is fully commissioned, the country will become self sufficient in fertiliser production and even have the capacity to export the products to other African countries. 

According to them, farmers are forced to utilise whatever fertiliser that is available as they have no choice, but we need to know that the fertiliser that will work in one state may not be suitable in another state, as they may not have the same soil type and composition. The same fertiliser  you use for maize may not be the fertiliser you will use for cassava.

Micheal Phillips, an Abuja-based petrochemical engineer, said the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will help the economy recover from years of poor performing refineries. 

He said by the first quarter of 2021 when the Dangote Petroleum Refinery begins production, Nigeria will move from being a country known for non-functional refineries to one that has one of the best refinery in the world. 

“Nigeria will be known as a country with the  best and biggest refinery equipment ever built-in global refining history, become a petroleum refining hub in Africa, while the refinery will meet the country’s gasoline requirements with a bit of surplus to export,” he said.

He said that for years, the advanced countries are the only ones with advanced refineries and petrochemical plants.

Also inspected by the team is the Dangote Jetty, which was  designed with consideration for very heavy and very long cargoes. 

Need for diversification/ job creation

Continuing, Emefiele said President Muhammadu Buhari had called for diversification of the economy to enable the country earn more revenue.

Emefiele has said Dangote Refinery will employ over 70,000 Nigerians when it begins operation adding that various policies of the Federal Government will ultimately reduce unemployment in the country.

The apex bank’s governor, said the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical plant is expected to increase its workforce from the current 34,000 to over 70,000 when it becomes operational.

Dangote said he is on a mission to aggressively reduce the unemployment in the country. He said the plant would also retain foreign exchange as Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in petroleum refining.

“Besides, we are going to help in terms of not only creating jobs but also in reducing the outflow of foreign exchange, not only in petroleum products but also in petrochemicals and in fertilisers. We would be one of the highest foreign exchange generating companies, going forward,” Dangote said.

According to him, the company’s $2 billion granulated urea fertiliser plant  will begin operations in May. The foremost industrialist said the fertiliser plant would make Nigeria the only urea exporting country in sub-Saharan Africa and biggest producer of polyethylene, which is capable of generating $2.5 billion annually.

Also speaking, President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said the refinery will be one of the highest foreign exchange generating company in Africa.

He said: “I thank the President for the support he has given us and also the CBN Governor, who has helped to bring down interest rate. We should not wait for foreign investors to invest in the economy. We have to do it ourselves especially now that interest rates are dropping and banks are lending more to the economy. I encourage more entrepreneurs to gear up and borrow more to develop the economy,” he said.

He said that with the Dangote Fertilizer plan which will begin commercial production in May 2020, Nigeria will be the biggest urea exporting country in Africa. “We will not only be exporting, we will be expanding big time with estimated four to five million tons of urea”.

We expect to earn $2.5 billion annually from the projects and that will reduce foreign exchange pressure on the economy and that will be about 10 per cent of what Nigeria earns annually from diaspora remittances.

- Advertisment -spot_img
- Advertisment -spot_img

Most Popular

Recent Comments