Business Post Contributor
Sodeinde Temidayo David
The Dangote Group’s petrochemical plant located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, reputed to worth $2 billion, will produce 77 polypropylene grades, a chemical obtained from petroleum by refining.
The company made this revelation through its Executive Director in charge of Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Mr Devakumar Edwin.
Mr Edwin said the petrochemical project, which is nearing completion and will be the biggest in Africa, has an estimated yearly turnover of $1.2 billion and has the capacity to produce 900,000 metric tonnes of 77 different high-performance grades of petrochemicals per annum.
The facility, according to him, will produce 780 kilo-tonnes per annum of polypropylene and also manufacture 500 kilo-tonnes per annum of polyethylene.
He added that the company has been strategically positioned to cater for the demands of the growing plastic processing downstream industries, not only in Africa but also in other parts of the world.
“The Dangote Petrochemical Plant will drive investment in the downstream industries massively, generating huge value addition in the country, generate employment, increase tax revenues, reduce foreign exchange outflow and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country,” Mr Edwin stated.
The director further said the petrochemical plant would embark on the production of polyethylene products like bottles and containers in the near future.
“Right now, raw materials from polypropylene are imported into the country. There is no foreign exchange for manufacturers to import raw materials. The Dangote Petrochemical plant is going to take care of this challenge,” he said.
According to him, when the raw materials are locally available, there will be many more people who will be willing to invest in the economy.
“So, it is not just the savings of foreign exchange from petrochemical products’ importation, the country’s downstream sector will also benefit hugely from the availability of petrochemicals in the country,” he added.
The group’s flagship project, Dangote Petrochemical Plant sits on over 2,500 hectares of land in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Lekki
