Dangote says refinery and fertiliser projects will employ nearly 90,000 people in Lagos

Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, says almost 90,000 people are expected to be working on the group's refinery, petrochemicals and fertiliser operations in Lagos by next year.

"The refinery expansion is huge. By next year, we expect to have almost 90,000 people working on the refinery and fertiliser projects in Lagos," he said in an interview reported by Blueprint.

The refinery expansion will add another 700,000 barrels per day of processing capacity, taking the planned total to about 1.4 million barrels per day, along with more petrochemical facilities and infrastructure. The group's investment programme could reach $65 billion over four years, covering refining, fertiliser, petrochemicals, power, pipelines and other businesses.

Dangote also announced plans for 20 fertiliser blending plants in strategic locations across Africa, and said the group intends to begin mining potash and phosphate in Congo-Brazzaville soon. In Lagos, he said, the group is working towards nine million tonnes of urea capacity, 1.2 million tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and one million tonnes of NPK blending capacity.

"What we want is for the countries where we operate, and their neighbours, to have fertiliser available 365 days a year," he said, adding that farmers should not face the uncertainty of long import and delivery times.

Dangote said job creation is his biggest concern. "We have a very youthful population, and we are not creating enough jobs. We must push harder to create opportunities and keep our young people productively engaged," he said.

Dangote used Ethiopia as an example of the supply problem. Fertiliser imports there pass through Djibouti before travelling inland, he said, which can leave supplies arriving after the planting season. He said Africa should build the capacity to meet its own farm input needs instead of staying exposed to disruptions in global markets, and recalled that at the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis the African Union went to Russia to plead for fertiliser.

He said he is confident that enough access to gas would allow a much larger expansion of fertiliser production.

Blueprint adds that the fertiliser programme is meant to turn Africa's agricultural potential into greater production, more reliable food supplies and new economic opportunities.