Dangote’s $2 billion Petrochemical Plant located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, is designed to produce 77 different high-performance grades of polypropylene in the country, the Group has said.
Polypropylene is used in a variety of applications to include packaging for consumer products, plastic parts for various industries including the automotive, medical, consumer products, fashion and sports and packaging industries.
It is also proven to have the smallest environmental impact among all plastic types as polypropylene can be recycled for various items such as cases, cans, home storage, flowerpots, pallets, crates and a host of others. It produces less solid waste by weight and less carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents by weight than polyvinylchloride (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Therefore, with a turnover of $1.2 billion, the 900,000 metric tonnes (MT) yearly capacity, Dangote Petrochemical Plant, situated alongside the Dangote Refinery, is strategically positioned to cater to the demands of the growing plastic processing downstream industries; not only in Africa, but also in other parts of the world.
Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, was quoted in a statement as saying that the Petrochemical Plant will drive investment in the downstream industries massively.
Polypropylene has the smallest environmental impact among all plastic types, can be recycled for various items such as cases, cans, home storage, flowerpots, pallets, crates and more, and produces less solid waste by weight and less carbon dioxide (CO2) than other equivalents.
Edwin, who gave an update on the plant in Lagos, said it will also generate huge value addition in Nigeria, especially employment creation, increase tax revenues, reduce foreign exchange (FX) outflow, and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
He added that the Petrochemical plant, which is nearing completion, would also production polyethylene products in the nearest future.
Edwin said: “Primarily, the Dangote Petrochemical Plant is going to produce polypropylene products. We are thinking of adding polyethylene products at a later stage.
“We have 77 types of polypropylene, which can go for different usage that we can produce from our petrochemical plant. Currently, the plant is capable of producing about 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene per annum. Our Petrochemical plant should be the biggest in Africa.”
He noted that currently, raw materials from polypropylene are imported into the country, adding that due to FX scarcity, manufacturers are unable to import the raw materials. The plant is going to take care of this challenge.
However, with the Dangote Petrochemical plant, Edwin said things are going to change. “When the raw materials are locally available, there will be many more people who will be willing to invest in the economy. So, it not just the savings of foreign exchange from petrochemical products’ importation, the country’s downstream sector will also benefit hugely from the availability of petrochemicals in the country.”