By Adedapo Adesanya
Mr Aliko Dangote has announced that Dangote Industries Limited will list the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the fertiliser plant on the stock exchange by the first quarter of 2025.
The $20 billion refinery is expected to generate an annual return of $25 billion and another $2.5 billion in the fertiliser plant will provide opportunities for the public to invest, according to the billionaire while addressing the media at the Dangote Refinery over the weekend.
“The refinery, expected to generate $25 billion annually from 2025, is set to be listed on the stock exchange in Q1 2025, offering Nigerians a chance to invest in the company.
“The fertilizer plant will also be listed, providing additional investment opportunities,” he said.
“Because of the nature of the business we have, both the refinery and the fertilizer, we are targeting the end of this year but it depends, most likely, in the worst case, we will be able to list them before the end of the first quarter of next year so that we will sell shares and Nigerians will buy,” Mr Dangote stated.
Mr Dangote highlighted the refinery’s impressive capacity, stating, “It is the largest single train refinery in the world with 650,000 barrels per day refining capacity.
“This marks the attainment of self-sufficiency in domestic refining of petroleum products and provides excess capacity in refined products for the export market.”
The industrialist emphasised the importance of investing in the country, urging Nigerians to manufacture and grow the economy rather than relying on imports.
“It is better to manufacture and grow the economy. If we allow imports so much, we may not be able to compete with other nations,” he said.
The refinery has already made a significant impact on the market, with diesel prices dropping below N1,100 per litre three times.
Additionally, the conglomerate plans to add nine million tonnes of capacity to the cement industry and expects to generate $325 million annually from cement exports.
Mr Dangote also called on Nigerian businessmen to invest in the country, warning that import dependency will impoverish the nation.
Modupe Gbadeyanka