Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical, a subsidiary of the Dangote Group, has so far awarded $368 million contracts to about 120 local contractors at the site as part of its contribution to Nigeria’s content development initiative.
Mr. Devakumar Edwin, the Group Executive Director Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, disclosed this during the tour visit to the Dangote Refinery by members of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), yesterday in Lagos.
Plans For Human Capital Development.
He said there are numerous Nigerian content opportunities in the establishment’s refinery and petrochemical project. He, however, noted that the refinery would lead to substantial skills transfer and technology acquisition opportunities in the country.
“The company has embarked on an innovative integrated refinery and petrochemical project considered as the largest industrial complex in the history of Africa, which is anticipated to take Nigeria to new heights through the transformation of the economy,” he said.
He further stated that the company is already in partnership with Siemens and the Lagos State Government in skills development of the local community for employment at the construction site, citing that 250 artisans have been trained and employed by the Dangote group.
The Company’s Intentions To Train 900 Nigerian Engineers In India.
“The company has completed the overseas training of the first and second batches of Nigerian engineers and are being acclimatised with the work culture at site. The third batch left for India classroom training for one month, on the job training for one year and working in real time with experts in the industry every day,” he added.
Devakumar said that company has so far hired 3,580 Nigerian personnel on site. “This figure omits the employment by the various contractors and sub-contractors at the site,” he said.
Edwin revealed to the pressmen that the oil refining enterprise, in association with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and the National Directorate of Employment, has begun training for 200 youths within the host community as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programmes. He made known to all that the programme is meant to prepare the selected youth with vocational skills that will make them employable or self-employed.
Refinery’s Goal To Reposition Nigeria As Africa’s Investment And Industrial Hub.
Speaking on the progress so far on the refinery project, Edwin said that the company has brought into the country the world’s largest reactor regenerator as well as a crude pillar, which is comparable to a 30-storied building, and weighs about 100 fully loaded trucks.
Devakumar said the refinery will guarantee that the security of local supply of petroleum products is assured, as well as the availability of petrochemical feedstock, which will be sufficient for the Nigerian market and also for neighbouring nations.
Edwin said that the refinery will reposition Nigeria as an attractive destination for investment, and be a key industrial hub in Africa. He, however, noted that the 650,000 barrels per-day refinery had been designed to process a variety of light and medium categories of crude, and also produce tremendously clean fuels that meet Euro V specification.
About Dangote Refinery.
The Dangote Refinery is a private oil processing plant owned by the Dangote Group. It is currently under construction, and located within the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lekki, Nigeria, which when completed, will have the capacity to process about 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
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