Dangote Industries Limited has said that its $2 billion petrochemical plant located at Ibeju-Lekki will produce 77 different high-performance grades of polypropylene.
This is as the plant is expected to meet the demands of the growing plastic processing industries in Nigeria and globally.
According to a statement signed by Dangote Group’s head, Group Communications and Branding, Tony Chiejine, this disclosure was made by the Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Ltd, Mr Devakumar Edwin, in Lokoja, while giving an update on the petrochemical project which is nearing completion and said to be the biggest in Africa.
Edwin said that the plant with an estimated yearly turnover of $1.2 billion has the capacity to produce 900,000 metric tonnes of 77 different grades of petrochemical per annum, according to NAN.
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What the Group Executive Director of Dangote Industries is saying
Edwin said that the 77 different polypropylene which will be produced from the petrochemical plant located alongside the Dangote Refinery also in Lekki, Lagos State, can go for different usage.
He said, ”It 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.’’
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Edwin added that the petrochemical plant would also embark on the production of polyethylene products in the nearest future.
On completion, the Dangote Chief said that the petrochemical plant would reduce the demand for foreign exchange from the nation’s treasury.
The Dangote boss further said, “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.
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“When the raw materials are locally available, there will be many more people who will be willing to invest in the economy.
” So, it 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.’’
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What you should know
The Dangote Petrochemical Complex consists of Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Plant. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is located in the South-East of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, covering a land area of approximately 2,635 hectares (six times the size of Victoria Island).
The project consists of the largest Single Train Petroleum Refinery in the World – 650,000 barrels-per-day (more than enough to meet Nigeria’s petrol needs and for export) Two of the World’s Largest Fertilizer Trains – 3 Million Tonnes per Annum.