Aliko Dangote, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Refinery, has revealed that his company secured $2.7 billion in loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a decade, from 2013 to 2023, to finance the construction of his mega refinery in Lagos.
In a recent statement, Dangote clarified that the majority of the refinery’s funding came from the company’s own resources, with minimal external assistance. He chose to bypass traditional project financing due to difficulties in obtaining funds from international creditors.
“On the loan that we got, part of the loan was taken by Dangote Industries, which is a local company. Dangote Industries got allocation from Central Bank, and the total allocation that we got, including the money that we lost in terms of interest, was about $2.7 billion from 2013 to 2023,” Dangote explained.
He further detailed that out of the $2.7 billion, over $200 million in forwards are yet to be collected from the CBN. Therefore, the total cash received from the CBN amounts to $2.5 billion, which has been used for interest and principal payments.
Dangote addressed misconceptions regarding the impact of his refinery on the CBN’s foreign exchange reserves. He emphasized that the funds obtained were minimal over the ten-year period and assured that these funds would be returned to the country through dividends and payments.
“Once the refinery begins to make a profit, it will start repaying the loan as soon as possible,” he stated.
“Dangote Industries, as soon as they get their dividends, are bringing that money back to sell in the local market. There’s no money we’ve taken away from Nigeria. And the one that we took, we’ll return it back.”
He further clarified that the popular belief that Dangote’s projects depleted the CBN’s reserves is inaccurate. “We got $2.5 billion cash from Central Bank and that money will come back as soon as we start making money. Once we start making money, we’ll start paying the loans that we have,” he reiterated.
Dangote has been addressing various allegations leveled against him by regulators, particularly concerning the funding of his refinery. In a previous statement, he mentioned that his company has repaid $2.5 billion out of the $5.5 billion borrowed from various banks for the refinery project. According to a former CBN governor, Dangote had repaid 70% of the loan obtained from the apex bank as of 2023.
