Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Group, says he would not have built the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery if he had fully understood the challenges involved.

Dangote spoke on Monday while receiving a delegation from the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) at the Dangote refinery in the state.

According to NAN, he said the scale of the refinery exceeded initial expectations.

“Honestly, if we had fully understood the magnitude and challenges involved, we may not have even attempted it, but it is because we didn’t know what we were into initially and the courage, or maybe, naivety that got us this far,” Dangote said.

He said the refinery was designed to handle large volumes, with up to 600 product vessels and about 240 crude oil tankers expected annually.

The billionaire said the challenges faced during construction included working on swampy terrain, extensive land clearing, and dredging 65 million cubic metres of sand from 20 kilometres offshore.

He said all the efforts were aimed at protecting local fishing communities.

“We had to uproot thousands of trees manually. Sand-filling alone took 18 months, but we made a deliberate decision to preserve the livelihoods of those living nearby, especially fishermen,” Dangote said.

When asked by an engineer how Nigerian professionals could be given more opportunities and take control of their future, Dangote said, “we appreciate that”.

“There are many more projects coming, and with them, we will continue to develop our engineering base,” he said.

“Even when we don’t have enough jobs to give, we must still train people.

“Skills are assets — whether they are used here or abroad. We want Nigeria to earn from exporting knowledge, not just oil.”

He said the project, initially planned to deploy up to 50,000 foreign workers, eventually used only 12,000 to 14,000 expatriates.

Dangote said most of the company’s workforce — including fitters, welders, and engineers — are Nigerians.

‘85% OF COMMISSIONING WORK IN DANGOTE REFINERY DONE BY NIGERIANS’

Speaking further, the entrepreneur said “85 percent of the commissioning work was done by Nigerians”.

“It is not because I am an engineer, but because they have proven to be among the best,” he added.

“Today, we are our own EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors. We are building this country ourselves.”

Dangote urged members of the NSE branch to view the visit as a step toward aligning with a national vision of self-sufficiency and industrial excellence.

[TheCable]