REFINERY: IF WE UNDERSTOOD MAGNITUDE, WE MIGHT NOT ATTEMPT IT – DANGOTE
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By Oduola F.A.
Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening local capacity and empowering Nigerian engineers through major industrial initiatives.
He made this pledge on Monday while hosting a delegation from the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
He said that the scale of the refinery was more than initial expectations.
He said: “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.”
He noted that the refinery was designed to handle massive volumes, with up to 600 product vessels and about 240 crude oil tankers expected annually.
Dangote said that challenges faced during the construction, included working on swampy terrain, extensive land clearing, and dredging 65 million cubic metres of sand from 20 kilometres offshore.
He said that all were in an effort to protect 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,” he said.
When asked by an engineer how Nigerian professionals could be given more opportunities and how they could take destiny into their own hands, Dangote said: “We appreciate that.
“There are many more projects coming, and with them, we will continue to develop our engineering base.
“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 that while the project was initially planned for up to 50,000 foreign workers, it eventually used only 12,000–14,000 expatriates.
Dangote said that the majority of the company’s workforce – including fitters, welders and engineers – were Nigerians.
“Eighty-five per cent 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.
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