Aliko Dangote, the founder of the Dangote Group, disclosed that he had repaid $2.4 billion of the $5.5 billion loan for his $19 billion refinery located in Lagos.
The richest guy in Africa also claimed that strong oil cartels attempted to sabotage his refinery project.
This Day Newspaper said that Dangote declared his 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery will serve as Nigeria’s strategic reserve during his speech at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings on Wednesday in Nassau, The Bahamas.
“We took out the loan based on our own financial statements. We borrowed, I believe, somewhat more than $5.5 billion. However, we also had to pay a lot of interest as we went along since there wasn’t enough land for the project, and the sand-filling process took a long time. For around five years, we took no action.
“In actuality, we got started in 2018.” That’s how much we borrowed. Of course, we have already paid roughly $2.4 billion in principal and interest. We’ve performed admirably. There is currently only roughly $2.7 billion outstanding. Therefore, for a project of that size, we’ve done really well,” he remarked.
Dangote acknowledged that many had doubted the project’s success and praised Afreximbank and Access Bank for their help.
He claimed that without their support, the vision would not have succeeded.
Dangote went on to say that international banks had little desire to aid in the development of Africa.
The billionaire said he was prepared for response, but he was surprised by how strong the opposition was. He said the pushback was much more intense than he had anticipated.
He claimed that efforts were made repeatedly to obstruct the construction of the refinery by both domestic and foreign interests, which he compared to a “mafia.”
“Well, I was aware that a brawl would break out. However, I was unaware that the mafia in oil possesses greater power than the mafia in drugs. That’s something I can confirm. Indeed, it is true,” he said.
Self-described fighter Dangote claimed they “tried all sorts” to stop him.
However, I’ve been fighting my entire life. You know, so I believe that fighting is a part of who I am,” he remarked.
He continued, “In fact, some of the foreign banks were really looking forward to making sure that they push us into default on our loans so that the project will just be dead during the COVID time. And it wasn’t made possible by banks like Afreximbank.
In addition, Dangote declared his intention to enter the steel business, emphasizing that his objective is to utilize solely steel made in Nigeria in order to ensure independence and lessen dependency on imports.
According to PUNCH Online, the Dangote Refinery has changed the date of its planned gasoline release from June to July 10-15. Dangote attributed the delay to small issues.
