Billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the delay in securing a site for the Dangote Petrochemical Facility in Ogun State has resulted in a $500 million loss for his conglomerate.
Speaking at a media tour on Sunday, Dangote attributed the financial setback to the protracted process of acquiring Olokola land for a petrochemical facility cost him $500 million on the $2.5 billion initial drawdown on bank loans.
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He expressed disappointment over the bureaucratic hurdles encountered, which significantly impacted the project timeline and overall costs.
“The three years and eight months delay by Ogun State govt over Olokola land for petrochemicals facility costs us $500m,” Dangote said.
Dangote said a total of $25bn investments have been made in petrol refinery and fertilizer plant by the Dangote group over the past 10 years.
Data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed foreign investors shunned Ogun, Osun and 31 other states as Lagos, FCT, and Ekiti were the ones attracted to investors with each recording $2.78 billion, $593.58 million, and $12.7 million respectively.
BusinessDay’s findings showed Dangote initially designed the petrochemical and refinery plant to be domiciled in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, straddling the states of Ondo and Ogun. The plan was somehow reportedly frustrated by unseen hands within the political space.
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The then Governor Babatunde Fashola-led Government of Lagos State grabbed the golden opportunity which has now become a reality.
