According to recent information, the newly completed
fertilizer complex is said to have gulped $2.5 billion under the first phase of
the project, as Africa’s most diversified manufacturing conglomerate extends
dominance into the fertilizer market, with the fertilizer facility located at
the Lekki Free Zone (LFZ), in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Recall that Dangote Group had earlier announced that its $2
billion Granulated urea fertilizer plant would start operations before the end
of December 2020.
But the take-off of the fertilizer plant had suffered some
setbacks with the opening date leading to postponement a few times, owing to
disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Sabo Nanono during a tour of the fully
completed facility in 2020, had said:
“This plant in five-ten years will change Nigeria
agriculture and economy, as the efforts by Dangote Industries will help to ward
off the crisis encountered in local production which has impacted agriculture.
“As things that are becoming difficult for us will be
resolved, especially in oil and for fertilizer due to the singular efforts, by
Alhaji Dangote.
“The new fertilizer plant will make fertilizer available to
Nigerian farmers, now we can forget all those merchants of fertilizer that have
been confusing this country for the last 40 years, as we have received an
answer from somebody who views them and makes it straight to the farmers.”
The Group Executive Director, Capital Projects and Portfolio
Development, Dangote Industries Limited, Dakumar Edwin, said:
“What we are now trying to do is customize the fertilizer,
as soil condition in Kaduna is different from the soil condition in other
states. This is because the climatic condition is different and the crop could
be corn, maize, rice or sugar.
“So each crop and each type of soil requires slightly different type of materials, so what we are trying to do is we are trying to analyze all the soil, we are doing the soil mapping process, and then we are trying to make customized.”