Dangote Group’s fertilizer plant, now under construction in Nigeria’s biggest city of Lagos, will be ready to start production next year, according to Saipem SpA, the builders.
Owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, the fertilizer plant located in the Lekki district of Nigeria’s commercial hub, has a capacity of 3 million tons a year of urea and ammonia, making it the world’s biggest.
It is in the vicinity of a 650,000 barrels a day Dangote oil refinery also under construction.
Test runs started at the plant in March, though hampered by the disruptions that came with the coronavirus pandemic, said Maurizio Coratella, chief operating officer of Saipem SpA.
“We are picking up now that things are looking more stable and are currently very well advanced,” Coratella said in an interview. “We are in the commissioning stage of the first train; for the second, we will have that commissioning in six to seven months time.”
Saipem is making special arrangements, including setting up dedicated flights for vendors and suppliers to enable it meet the completion deadline, he said.