Inside the $9 billion Dangote petroleum refinery

Aliko Dangote is a business juggernaut whose
middle name is entrepreneur. He is never
dissuaded from entering new businesses
despite the general inclement operating
business environment. Given his foray into
many different business terrains and the
successes he has recorded thereof, it would
appear he has the uncanny ability to juggle
different balls at the same time and get
results.
He has been declared the richest black man on
the planet earth, yet his humility will surprise
you. He remains unaffected by the lofty
heights he has attained in business.
His business acumen is unparalleled. From the
humble beginning, Dangote has nurtured a
trading company to a pan-African
conglomerate and a force to be reckoned with
in the global arena using creativity, innovation,
style, patience and commitment to his dream.
He made a bold move to acquire the Kaduna
refinery in 2007 along with one of his friends
in response to the government’s call to help
rejuvenate the ailing refinery which, by then,
had become a draining pipe to the Federal
Government. For one reason or the other,
Dangote returned the refining plant to
government. Since then, he had been on the
drawing board deploying his business dexterity
on the best way to enter into the critical oil
and gas sector.
The global business community would have
been shocked, last week, when it was
announced that the business mogul was ready
to build, in his home country, the biggest
petroleum refinery in Africa. This is a feat
thought to be unrealizable given that many
who had been licensed to build refinery years
ago failed to commence business citing the
deregulation policy as a hindrance.
Those in that school of thought would have
then swallowed their pride when Dangote
gathered a consortium of local and
international banks in Abuja to sign a term
loan agreement to the tune of $3 billion to
execute the refining plant project, a fertilizer
plant as well as petrochemical facilities. Other
African financial institutions are also expected
to bring some facility while the man himself is
coming on board with an amount equaling the
sum being put together by all the banks. The
total investment is $9 billion. Cont. Reading