Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has made some revelations about the newly inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
It was reported earlier that President Muhammadu Buhari, top African leaders and politicians, graced the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, today.
While delivering his speech, Emefiele, who was also a guest at the event, said the Dangote refinery will help Nigeria generate more power for its electricity sector.
Data made public earlier said that the 650,000 BPD Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to churn out Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), diesel (AGO), aviation jet fuel and Dual-Purpose Kerosene (DPK), among other refined products.
In his affirmation, Emefiele said the Dangote Refinery is expected to generate 12,000 megawatts of electricity. The CBN Governor further disclosed that over 135,000 permanent jobs will be available to Nigerians as operations begin.
According to him, the refinery is also expected to save Nigeria between $25 and $30 billion in forex annually.
Like a venture that continues to give, the refinery, Emefiele says will further give the economy an inflow of $10 billion yearly.
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In his opinion, the Dangote Refinery indicates that Nigeria can produce whatever it Needs. Emefiele noted that the refinery which was initially estimated to cost about $9 billion when it started in 2013, was completed with a total of $18.5bn, with funding distributed into 50 per cent equity investment and 50 per cent debt finance.
The CBN Governor, who noted that the commercial loan component of the project was financed majorly by domestic banks with the balance sourced from foreign banks, added that the apex bank provided about N125 billion to cover domestic currency requirements for the venture.
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Emefiele said: “What you may not be fully aware of, Your Excellencies, is that the Dangote Group has started repaying some of the commercial loans even before the commissioning of this facility. This reflects the commercial capability of the Group and its Chairman. I am pleased to inform everyone today that, following extensive repayments, outstanding debt has dropped appreciably from over US$9 billion to US$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.”
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