World’s richest black man, Aliko Dangote is arguably the brightest industrialist in Africa. His penchant for spotting lucrative opportunities hidden within socio-economic challenges is what has catapulted him to the pulpit of industrial bliss. But beyond that, when he takes up a business project, he ensures it is the largest.
Here are five Dangote factories that hold the records for Africa’s largest in their different categories.
Obajana Cement Plant, Kogi State, Nigeria
The cement plant is the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the largest in the world, though it started out as a greenfield project in 2003. By 2007, it was already commissioned, taking little time to hit full production capacity. The plant currently has a production capacity of 10.25 million tonnes of cement per annum, which is expected to increase to 12.25 million tonnes per annum once the additional capacity being built is completed.
The Obajana Mine, which the cement company uses to produce, is estimated to hold reserves that could last 100 years.
Fertilizer/Refinery Plant
In 2013, Dangote Industries Limited signed a loan agreement with a consortium of both local and international banks to the tune of $3.3 billion for the purpose of constructing the biggest Petroleum Oil Refinery & Petrochemical/ Fertilizer Plants in Nigeria. The total cost of the project is $9 billion.
The fertilizer plant, expected to be completed in 2016, will be fitted with the capacity to produce 2.8 million tonnes of urea every year. The Petrochemical plant will produce Polypropylene which can be used in various forms of packaging, ropes and agro-sacks.
Dangote Sugar
Dangote sugar-refining factory at Apapa port was commissioned in 2001, a year after the company started as the sugar division of Dangote Industries Limited. It had an initial installed capacity to process 600,000 tonnes of raw sugar per annum.
The refinery has since undergone two expansion projects, increasing the production capacity to about 1.44 million MT per annum, making it the largest sugar refinery in Africa and second largest in the world. The company also has a sugar refinery in Algeria where it produces 1.25 tonnes annually.
Dangote Agro Sacks
Dangote Agro Sacks Limited operates as a subsidiary of Dangote Flour Mills Plc. It is the largest producer of sacks in the world. It produces environmentally-friendly polypropylene bags majorly for the packaging of its products – cement, flour, sugar and salt.
Bag production is the sole business of the company. It produces 500 million 50Kg-bags yearly.
Dangote Tomato Processing Factory
The tomato processing unit is located in Kano State, northern Nigeria, where Dangote hails from. It is equipped with a processing capacity of 1200 tonnes per day and has been sounded out as the largest in Africa.
A team from the Staple Crop Processing Zone Development (SCPZ) of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) conducted an inspection of the facility earlier in the month, ensuring all is set for commissioning in April.
However, there are reports that another tomato processing facility is being built by Erisco Foods Limited, a member of Erisco Bonpet Group, which could threaten the Dangote facility’s position as the largest on the continent.
