Dangote files to build seaport in next phase of empire expansion

Africa’s richest person has applied to begin work on a seaport near his fertiliser and oil refinery plants to make it easier to export goods — including liquefied natural gas — and support the rapid growth of his industrial empire.

Aliko Dangote’s plan “to build the biggest, deepest port in Nigeria,” took wings after he sent in the paperwork for permission in late June, he said in an interview in Lagos.

The proposed Atlantic seaport in Olokola, Ogun state, lies about 100 kilometers (62 miles) by road from the billionaire’s fertilizer plant and petrochemicals refinery in Lagos. Dangote currently exports urea and fertilizer through an on-site jetty he built, that also receives heavy equipment for the refinery.

Once completed, the port will link the conglomerate’s logistics and export operations and rival facilities in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, including the Chinese-funded Lekki Deep Sea Port opened in 2023.

“It’s not that we want to do everything by ourselves, but I think doing this will encourage other entrepreneurs to come into it,” he said.

The port marks the billionaire’s return to the same site where he had previously abandoned plans to build his giant refinery and fertilizer complex after wrangling with local authorities. The tensions have since been mended under a new administration.

Dangote also plans to export liquefied gas from Lagos, a project that will involve constructing pipelines from Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta., vice-president of the group Devakumar Edwin said in another interview.

“We want to do a major project to bring more gas than what NLNG is doing today,” he said, referring to Nigeria LNG Ltd., a joint-venture between the government, Shell Plc, Eni SpA and TotalEnergies SE, which is currently the continent’s largest exporter of LNG. “We know where there is a lot of gas, so run a pipeline all through and then bring it to the shore.”

Dangote already sources natural gas from the Niger Delta to supply his fertilizer plant, where it’s used as feedstock to produce hydrogen for ammonia — a key component in the production of the crop nutrient.

The billionaire also plans to start distributing fuel to retailers in Nigeria from August, using a fleet of 4,000 gas-powered trucks, a move that has drawn criticism from some groups accusing him of attempting to monopolize the oil sector, which he has denied.

Dangote, valued at $27.8 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also owns cement manufacturing and sugar plants in Africa.

© 2025 Bloomberg

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