Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the construction of the Dangote Refinery required the importation of 150,000 containers—most of which came through the Port of Lome in Togo due to Nigeria’s limited port capacity.
Dangote made the revelation at the Global Commodity Insights Conference on the West African Refined Fuel Market held in Abuja on Tuesday.
He explained that Nigerian ports lacked the space and equipment needed to handle the massive volume of materials and equipment for the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery.
“We had to build not just a refinery but also a seaport. Over 60% of our equipment could not pass through Nigerian ports,” he said. “We brought in 150,000 containers, and the majority had to go through Lome.”
Dangote said the refinery site, which covers over 2,700 hectares—70% of which was originally swamp land—had to be filled and raised before construction. The project also included millions of meters of piping and cables, and some machinery weighed over 3,000 tons.
He added that the refinery faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and technical failures. At its peak, over 67,000 workers from various countries were involved.
On the commercial side, Dangote said it has been difficult to get crude oil locally, as many producers prefer to export. This forced the company to import crude from countries such as the U.S., Brazil, Angola, and Algeria—raising operational costs, especially due to unstable exchange rates.
He criticised Nigeria’s high port and regulatory charges, which he said are more expensive than those faced by competitors in neighbouring countries.
Dangote also noted that Africa’s lack of unified fuel standards and regulations continues to hurt regional trade. He warned that cheap and substandard fuel imports are a threat to the success of local refineries.
Despite the setbacks, the refinery has begun exporting refined products to West African markets and is working to expand its supply chain.
Calling for stronger political will across Africa, Dangote said, “Without political support, there is no way for any new large refinery to be built in our lifetime.”
He said the challenges his refinery faced reflect the bigger problems holding back Africa’s industrial growth.
