The Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has said the newly commissioned Dangote Petroleum Refinery will save Nigeria $30billion foreign exchange and additional $10billion inflows.
The refinery was commissioned on Monday by President Mohammadu Buhari was built at the cost of $18.5 billion by Dangote Group.
Emefiele said among the benefits of the refinery which product will hit the country in July is that it will save Nigeria between $25 billion to $30 billion yearly.
He also announced the Dangote Group has repaid 70 percent of the loans obtained for the project. The CBN Governor said, “I am pleased to inform everyone today that following extensive repayments, outstanding debt has dropped appreciably from over $9 billion to $3 billion.
“I must at this juncture appreciate all the participating local Nigerian banks, who did not only partner with the project through effective financing but were keenly aware of the importance of the project for our nation. They provided immense support and exceptional understanding, even when interest payments and principal repayment had fallen due”.
Monday’s commissioning was attended by Heads of State of Ghana, Togo, Niger and Senegal. There was also a representative of President of Chad.
President Muhammadu Buhari who led the Heads of State to the commissioning said Nigeria will have enough refined oil as well as the one for export. He added, “I urge and encourage our other great entrepreneurs to emulate this iconic Nigerian industrialist and join the government in accelerating our growth in order to realise our country’s globally recognised economic potential.
“When I travel around Africa and meet and engage my brother Heads of State, and I am delighted some of their Excellences are here, I often sense a quiet expectation that our country is blessed with resources and human capacity to lead Africa’s rise to economic prosperity and the attainment of Agenda 2063 – ‘The Africa we all want;
“But to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, Africa must come together ; we must integrate our economies, eliminate barriers to trade and energise our youthful population to scale up our productive capacity.
“We must create necessary conditions for our private sector to grow and partner with the public sector to accelerate economic growth across the continent.
“We must not allow outside powers to use some of our leaders to destabilise our economic and political trajectory”.
Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote in his speech said the commissioning of the refinery was a fulfilment of the corporate vision of promoting self-sufficiency and global competitiveness.
Dangote commended the CBN Governor for the support by believing in it and giving necessary support.
He said, “As in most mega projects, financing has been a source of many significant challenges. Governor Emefiele’s belief in and commitment to this project has been awesome.
“Without Governor Emefiele’s courageous support and backing, this project would not have stood a chance of successful completion. Governor Emefiele moved mountains to ensure the success of this project.
“Indeed, apart from the top management of the refinery itself, no one in this gathering has visited this site more times than Governor Emefiele. We are, indeed, very grateful;
Continuing Alhaji Dangote said, “We have built a refinery with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day plus 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene in a single train, which is the largest in the world. We have selected the best plants and equipment and the latest technologies from across the world.
“Our products slate is designed to meet the highest quality standards and high-value products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel), Aviation Turbine Kerosine (ATK); all of Euro V Standards that will enable us not only meet our country’s demand but also to become a key player in the African and global markets.
“Our coastal location and offshore loading and offloading (SPM) facilities with a capacity to receive all our crude oil supplies and evacuate up to 75 per cent of our liquid products give us direct access to the rest of Africa and the global market for exports. In addition, 80 per cent of our production can be discharged through trucks nationwide”. He concluded.
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