Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has applied to begin construction of a new deep seaport in Olokola, Ogun State, to support exports from his growing industrial empire, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser, and refined products.
According to a Bloomberg report on Monday, the proposed Atlantic seaport will connect Dangote Group’s logistics and export operations and is expected to rival existing facilities in Lagos, such as the Chinese-funded Lekki Deep Sea Port, which opened in 2023.
Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Group, disclosed that the seaport project includes plans to export LNG from Lagos by constructing pipelines linking Nigeria’s gas-rich Niger Delta to the Atlantic coast.
“We want to do a major project to bring more gas than what NLNG is doing today,” Edwin said, referring to Nigeria LNG Ltd., a government-led joint venture with Shell, Eni, and TotalEnergies, currently Africa’s top LNG exporter.
Dangote submitted the application for the port in late June. The new site is located about 100 kilometers from his massive refinery and fertiliser complex on the outskirts of Lagos. The billionaire already uses an on-site jetty to export urea and receive heavy equipment for his refinery.
“It’s not that we want to do everything by ourselves, but I think doing this will encourage other entrepreneurs to come into it,” Dangote said during a recent interview in Lagos.
The project also marks a return to Olokola, where Dangote initially planned to build his refinery and fertiliser plants but pulled out years ago due to disagreements with local authorities. Those issues have reportedly been resolved under a new state administration.
In addition to gas export plans, Dangote intends to start distributing fuel to retailers nationwide in August using a fleet of 4,000 gas-powered trucks. The move has drawn criticism from groups concerned about potential market dominance, an allegation the businessman has denied.
Dangote, currently worth $27.8 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also owns major cement and sugar production facilities across Africa and continues to expand his industrial footprint within and beyond Nigeria.
