Dangote’s $2bn Petrochemical plant to produce 77 grades of Polypropylene

Dangote’s $2bn Petrochemical plant to produce 77 grades of Polypropylene

By Jennifer Ugwueke

Dangote’s $2 billion Petro­chemical Plant located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, is de­signed to produce 77 different high-performance grades of polypropylene in the Country.

With a turnover of $1.2 bil­lion, the 900,000 metric tons per annum capacity Dangote Petrochemical plant, situated alongside the Dangote Refin­ery, has been strategically posi­tioned to cater to the demands of the growing plastic process­ing downstream industries, not only in Africa, but also in other parts of the world.

Giving an update on the petrochemical plant in Lagos, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development, Dan­gote Industries Limited, Deva­kumar Edwin, said Dangote Petrochemical will drive in­vestment in the downstream industries massively, generat­ing huge value addition in the Country, generating employ­ment, increase tax revenues, reduce foreign exchange out­flow and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Country.

He added that the Petro­chemical plant, which is near­ing completion, would also embark on the production of polyethylene products in the nearest future.

“The Dangote Petrochem­ical plant is being built along­side the refinery. Primarily, the Dangote Petrochemical Plant is going to produce poly­propylene products. We are thinking of adding polyeth­ylene products at a later stage.

“We have 77 types of poly­propylene, which can go for different usage that we can produce from our petrochem­ical plant. Currently, the plant is capable of producing about 900,000 tons of polypropylene per annum. Our Petrochemi­cal plant should be the biggest in Africa”, Edwin stated.

Edwin said the petrochem­ical plant would reduce the demand for foreign exchange from the nation’s treasury to import petrochemical by-products.

“Right now, raw materi­als from polypropylene are imported into the country. There is no foreign exchange for manufacturers to import raw materials. The Dangote Petrochemical plant is going to take care of this challenge.

“When the raw materials are locally available, there will be many more people who will be willing to invest in the economy. So, it is not just the savings of foreign exchange from petrochemical products’ importation, the country’s downstream sector will also benefit hugely from the avail­ability of petrochemicals in the country.”