Aliko Dangote, the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, has revealed that the Dangote Refinery is poised to commence the production of gasoline and polypropylene by March 2024. Dangote expressed optimism that this development will contribute significantly to reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
During the Dangote Cement Distributor’s award night for the year 2023, themed ‘Forward Together,’ Dangote also shared plans to consolidate Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Salt, and Dangote Rice into a new entity called Dangote Foods. This strategic move aims to leverage backward integration linkages and strengthen the food subsidiary, with the goal of producing a million tons of rice by 2025, generating thousands of jobs.
Dangote emphasized the commitment to continuous research and improvement in production processes to deliver high-quality products to the market. Speaking about the refinery’s progress, he highlighted that the production of crude oil has already commenced with Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and JETA1 fuel as initial products. Anticipated by the end of March are the production of gasoline and polypropylene, which is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Dangote expressed confidence that the refinery’s impact will extend beyond economic transformation to create linkages and foster the growth of industries dependent on its byproducts. He also envisioned the creation of more job opportunities, thereby reducing youth unemployment and enhancing livelihoods.
The Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Mr. Arvind Pathak, took the opportunity to commend customers for their unwavering support, which has contributed to the success of the business.