Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans by the Dangote Group to invest in power generation with a target of producing up to 20,000 megawatts of electricity.
Gatekeepers News reports that Dangote disclosed this during an interview with Makhtar Diop on Wednesday.
“We are now going into power — 20,000 megawatts,” Dangote said.
Nigeria currently generates between 4,000 and 4,500 megawatts of electricity, despite having an installed generation capacity of more than 13,000MW.
Dangote said the planned power investment forms part of a broader expansion strategy that also includes fertiliser production, liquefied natural gas (LNG), mining, agriculture, and port development projects across Africa.
Reflecting on the development of the Dangote refinery, he said the project initially faced widespread doubt and criticism.
“At the time when I started this refinery… I have never ever seen crude oil in my life,” he said.
“People openly said this refinery will never happen.”
The Dangote refinery, estimated to be worth about $20 billion, is currently producing fuel with a refining capacity of about 650,000 barrels per day.
According to Dangote, the success of the refinery has strengthened his belief in large-scale investments across the continent.
“How do we open up Africa? We will open Africa by demonstrating that we believe in Africa, by investing our money in Africa,” he said.
“Because if I don’t invest my own money, I can never go to any conference and convince people that Africa is a good place to come and invest. But right now, I have a voice, I have demonstrated that these things are possible.”
Dangote also revealed plans to expand fertiliser production capacity to about 12 million tonnes annually while pursuing investments in potash and phosphate mining in Congo and Brazil.
“Today, in about two and a half years, we will be the largest fertiliser company in the world. We are putting up 12 million tons of urea. We are opening up mines of potash and phosphate in Congo and Brazil. We are building the biggest deep-sea port with an 18-meter draft. We are doing LNG,” he said.
He added that stronger cash flows and improved financial flexibility have positioned the group for more large-scale investments.
“We are now actually free of assets, and we can actually raise more money. Our cash flow now is very, very strong,” Dangote stated.
The billionaire businessman said the projects are designed to help bridge critical infrastructure and industrial gaps across Africa, although he stressed that long-term investment success would depend on the continent addressing structural trade barriers.
