Dangote Abandons Steel Plant Construction Amid Monopoly Accusations

Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, has halted plans to construct a new steel plant in Nigeria following accusations of monopolistic practices related to his new refinery.

At a press conference held on Saturday at the refinery in Lagos, Dangote announced the board’s decision. “Our board has decided that we should not have the steel plant,” he stated. “If we do, we will be called all sorts of names.”

Dangote had initially planned to build a 5,000-ton steel plant to serve West Africa upon the completion of his refinery project. He encouraged other Nigerian investors to step in. “Let other Nigerians also go and do it,” Dangote urged. “We are not the only Nigerians here. There are even some Nigerians with more cash. They should bring in that money from Dubai and other parts of the world to invest in our own fatherland.”

The Nigerian government recently accused Dangote of seeking a suspension on diesel and aviation fuel imports, which would grant his refinery a monopoly in the market. Dangote expressed his dismay over these accusations. “The monopoly accusations are disheartening,” he said. “Whatever Dangote was given, other people too were given. In fact, some of them even got more than us.”

The $20 billion Dangote Refinery, which has been operational since January, currently produces aviation fuel, naphtha, and diesel. Dangote disclosed that he paid $100 million for the land in the Lagos free trade zone where the refinery is located.

In response to allegations from Nigerian regulators about the quality of the refinery’s diesel, Dangote presented test results showing a sulfur content of 87 ppm, compared to over 1,800 ppm in imported diesel. He stated that the goal was to reduce sulfur content to 10 ppm by the end of the month.

Presently, the refinery exports most of its diesel to major customers like Trafigura, Vitol, BP, and TotalEnergies. Gasoline production is slated to begin in August, increasing overall production from 350,000 to 550,000 barrels per day by year-end.

“Construction is nearly complete,” said Olakunle Alake, vice president of Dangote Industries Limited. “One or two units are being finalized, and by August, we should only have one item left to complete.”