Yesterday, billionaire Aliko Dangote revealed a significant milestone: repaying approximately $2.4 billion of the $5.5 billion loan used to construct his $19 billion refinery.
Speaking at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings and AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, Dangote exposed efforts by various organizations to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day facility.
Despite widespread skepticism, Dangote credited Afreximbank and Nigeria’s Access Bank for their unwavering support.
“We borrowed the money based on our own balance sheet,” he said, detailing the challenges that delayed the project, including land acquisition and extensive sand-filling.
The refinery, which truly commenced in 2018, has only $2.7 billion left to repay. “We’ve done very well for a project of that magnitude,” Dangote concluded, celebrating the achievement against all odds.