Dangote Group’s fertilizer $2bn plant will be ready for commercial production next year, according Saipem SpA, the builders.
The plant located in Lagos and owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has a capacity of three million tons a year of urea and ammonia, making it the world’s biggest, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
The fertiliser plant had initially been slated to begin production in May this year.
Test runs started at the plant in March, though hampered by the disruptions that came with the coronavirus pandemic, the Chief Operating Officer of Saipem SpA, Maurizio Coratella, told Bloomberg.
“We are picking up now that things are looking more stable and are currently very well advanced,” Coratella said in an interview.
“We are in the commissioning stage of the first train; for the second, we will have that commissioning in six to seven months time.”
Dangote is making special arrangements, including setting up dedicated flights for vendors and suppliers to enable it to meet the completion deadline, he said.
