The Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, says it is gratifying that the Dangote Refinery can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirement for all refined products and have surplus for export.
He said this as some members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria on Thursday lauded Dangote Group on the planned commissioning of the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery on May 22 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the refinery’s onboarding promises to bring to pleasant end, the nightmare of long queues at petrol filling stations and the disruption of social and economic activities that come with it.
Ajayi-Kadir said that the refinery, when fully operational, was billed to generate $10 billion from the export of refined petroleum products and save Nigeria an estimated $10 billion in foreign exchange.
“To cushion the potential impact of increase in mean sea level due to global warming, the company took appropriate measures using the world’s largest, 2nd and 10th largest dredgers to elevate the sea height by 1.5 metres.
“Dangote Group is one of the few companies in the world executing a petroleum refinery and a petrochemical complex directly as an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor.
“On employment, the refinery offers the highest number of employees by any private company, including 100,000 indirect employments at retail outlets; 26,716 filling stations and 129 depots in Nigeria.
“For all the determination and trail blazing zeal to bring this dream into reality, we congratulate the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on the occasion of the official commissioning of this pride-of-Africa birthed-in-Nigeria project,” he said.
Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General, LCCI, also lauded the efforts of Aliko Dangote and the supportive Federal Government.
She said the refinery’s impact on the Nigerian economy was significant, particularly as it saves and generates foreign exchange.
Almona said the initiative presents Nigeria as an attractive investment destination for local and foreign investors and urged government to strengthen its commitment to creating an enabling environment for businesses.
“Expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s single-train facility, the Dangote Refinery has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, sufficient to meet Nigeria’s need for refined petroleum products.
“The refinery will create jobs, positively affect the value of the Naira, broaden prosperity for the downstream sector, provide growth opportunities for businesses and stimulate economic growth by impacting the country’s balance of payments.
“The Chamber expects the refinery to fuel further growth and development across its value chain, including cosmetics, plastics, textiles, among others.
“We also see room for the development of added value in agribusiness, including the Sugar Backward Integration projects that plan to create a strong localized supply in the sugar industry, benefiting local suppliers across the sugar value chain,” she said.