Dangote $2.5 billion fertilizer plant given the all-clear to begin production next month
Dangote Urea Fertilizer Plant, the $2.5 billion investment owned by Africa’s riches man Aliko Dangote, has been given the all-clear to commence production anytime next month.
The plant is part of the $12 billion Dangote refinery project that covers an area of 2,635 hectares on the Lekki Free Zone overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos.
The Urea Fertilizer plant was built to tap into Nigeria’s demand for fertilizer, a critical component of achieving food sufficiency for Africa’s most populous country.
Devakumar Edwin, executive director of capital projects and portfolio management at Dangote Group said ” the fertilizer plant facility is ready, the finished products from the plant will be in the market this month.”
The opening of the fertilizer plant has been pushed back severally for several reasons such as access to forex, the ailing economy, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fertilizer plant is expected to manufacture 3 million metric tonnes of urea per annum, with a core focus on the reduction of Nigeria’s fertilizer imports, and $400m annual foreign exchange from export to other African countries.
According to Dangote Group, “the coming on stream of the plant will not only boost food sufficiency in Nigeria but also make Africa self-sufficient in food production and a net exporter of food to the world.”
The company also said capacity at the plant will later be expanded to produce multiple grades of fertilizers to meet soil, crop, and climate-specific requirement for the African continent.
