The President of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced new investment plans to expand into steel production, electricity generation, and port development, in a bid to bridge industrial development gaps in these sectors of the economy.
According to Dangote, in a recent interview with The New York Times, the push to invest in these industrial sectors was borne out of his desire to reduce Africa’s dependence on these products.
“We have to industrialise Africa,” Dangote stated, adding that his next priorities include building a competitive steel industry, improving access to reliable electricity, and developing additional port infrastructure to support large-scale manufacturing and trade.
Dangote’s business expansion plans also include his oil and gas business, as he has already commenced a $12 billion expansion to increase the 650 barrels per day capacity of Dangote Refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day, alongside the addition of large-scale petrochemical production.
The $12 billion expansion plan of the Dangote Refinery will be spread over the next three years as production increases. Dangote also revealed plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange, a move aimed at broadening local investor participation.
