Aliko Dangote has revealed plans for a 20,000MW power project, signalling a major expansion of his industrial footprint beyond oil refining, cement, and fertiliser.
He disclosed in an interview with Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation.
“We are now going into power—20,000 megawatts,” he said, adding that Africa’s most pressing needs remain energy, fertilisers, and industrial inputs.
“And the needs of Africa are petroleum products, fertilisers,” Dangote said. “Today, in about two and a half years, we will be the largest fertiliser company in the world. We are putting up 12 million tons of urea. We are opening up mines of potash and phosphate in Congo and Brazil. We are building the biggest deep-sea port with an 18-meter draft. We are doing LNG.”
He added that the expansion is being driven by stronger cash flows and increased financial flexibility. “We are now actually free of assets, and we can actually raise more money. Our cash flow now is very, very strong,” he said.
Dangote did not provide details on financing or timelines for the power project, but a 20,000MW addition would significantly reshape Nigeria’s struggling electricity sector. The country currently has an installed generation capacity of about 13,000MW, much of which is not consistently available due to infrastructure challenges.
Africa’s energy and industrial push
The announcement comes alongside the rapid expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, a $20 billion facility with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, currently being scaled up toward 1.4 million barrels per day.
The refinery has already improved Nigeria’s fuel supply situation and boosted regional availability, particularly during recent global disruptions linked to Middle East tensions.
Dangote also linked his investments to a broader vision for Africa’s industrial self-sufficiency. “We will open Africa by demonstrating that we believe in Africa, by investing our money in Africa,” he said. “Because if I don’t invest my own money, I can never go to any conference and convince people that Africa is a good place to come and invest. But right now, I have a voice… I have demonstrated that these things are possible,” he said.
