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What Aliko Dangote said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Aliko Dangote said his 650,000 barrels per day refinery in Lagos is the largest single train in the world, achieved despite significant challenges, and that he has been in business since 1978. He said he could have built in the Middle East at lower cost but chose Nigeria, buying nearly 3,500 construction equipment and developing a port because infrastructure was lacking. He noted the project hit global engineering limits because no fabrication shop could handle larger equipment. He criticized Nigeria's low local production of polypropylene, saying the refinery can produce 72 grades, which will reduce imports and save foreign exchange. He emphasized that the refinery meets Nigeria's petrol needs and allows exports, and that despite skepticism, the project proves the point.
Key takeaways
The refinery is the largest single train in the world at 650,000 barrels per day.
Dangote could have built in the Middle East at lower cost but chose Nigeria.
Nearly 3,500 construction equipment were bought due to lack of local infrastructure.
The refinery can produce 72 grades of polypropylene, saving foreign exchange.
This is the Dangote investment on the Epilelei axis of Lagos State. An investment of over $20 billion. The biggest private investment in Africa, seated on a land mass of 2,635 hectares at the Dangote Industries Freezone Enterprise. A project that once could only be imagined now stands firm as an economic gamechanger.
The 650,000 barrels per day that we've done is the largest single train not only in Africa, in the world, you know, and we just wanted to make a point, and which we have now, you know, achieved. A lot of people are very, very skeptical. They never ever even gave us the chance. But today we have actually proved a point despite all odds. And when I say despite all odds, I can spend a whole day telling you the challenges. The challenges that we faced in this project. The most, I mean, there are the most challenges that I've faced in my life of doing business. I've been in business from '78 to date. That is 45 years.
We could have put it in the Middle East. At least a couple of countries were very keen to have our investment, and we would have sourced the local crude and we would have been exporting and making good profits. Instead of investing, and as you know, our capital cost would have also been far lesser because of the lack of infrastructure here. We ended up buying almost 3,500 construction equipment, which I would not have had to, because we would have had contractors in the Middle East who are having all the equipment. I would not have had to develop a port facility to import my equipment because the facility is there. I would not have had to go and import equipment to even salvage my site because this was swamp. All swamp buggies I had to import. I would not have had to spend that money.
A land mass where one of the world's biggest dredging exercises occurred. 65 million cubic meters of sand dredged, costing approximately €300 million. This masterpiece is the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, located in Dangote Industries Freezone Enterprise, Lagos. A 650,000 barrel per day capacity plant. More than enough to meet Nigeria's petrol needs and enough to export.
Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Company developed a port, constructed two quays with a load-bearing capacity of 25 tons per square meter, to bring over-dimensional cargoes close to the site directly.
The jetty became ever so busy as it was one equipment after the other landing. Construction commenced in 2017.
Over 25,570 pieces of various equipment were brought to enhance the local capacity for site works, as companies in country were unable to handle some portions of its requirements. To add to the current capacity in Nigeria, 340 cranes were brought to support the project.
The refinery complex is a mammoth project.
3 more exchanges in this transcript
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Dangote, A. (2026, September 30). Ruto,Kindiki, Billionaire Aliko Dangote arrive in Lamu for Ksh.2.2T oil refinery Ground-breaking [Interview transcript]. Kenya Newsline. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2950556/
MLA
Aliko Dangote. "Ruto,Kindiki, Billionaire Aliko Dangote arrive in Lamu for Ksh.2.2T oil refinery Ground-breaking." Kenya Newsline, 30 Sep. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2950556/.
BibTeX
@misc{dangote2026_2950556,
author = {Aliko Dangote},
title = {Ruto,Kindiki, Billionaire Aliko Dangote arrive in Lamu for Ksh.2.2T oil refinery Ground-breaking},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Kenya Newsline. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {sep},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2950556/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
