Uganda Approaches Dangote To Establish Refinery, Fertiliser Plants

Uganda has approached the Dangote Group to participate in its proposed multi billion dollars oil refinery and invest in fertiliser and salt production, seeking to draw on the Nigerian conglomerate’s industrial expertise to process its natural resources, create jobs and reduce dependence on imports.

The East African country presented the investment opportunities during a visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos by a delegation led by Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza, and Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Privatisation and Investment), Hajjat Amina Mukalazi. The ministers pledged government support for the proposed collaboration, saying Uganda wanted to translate its crude oil and mineral resources into domestic production and wider economic benefits.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, received the delegation alongside senior executives of the group, including group Vice President, Devakumar Edwin; Group Executive Director, Logistics and Distribution, Abdu Dantata; Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations, Oil & Gas, Fertiliser, Fatima Aliko Dangote; and Managing Director, Infrastructure and Logistics, Captain Jamil Mohammed Abubakar.

Presenting Uganda’s proposals, Mukalazi invited the group to take a leading role in the planned 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery in the Hoima area, which she described as a major industrial priority for the country. She said the project would benefit from the group’s experience in engineering, construction and the operation of large industrial facilities.

“You have shown that an African company can build world-scale industry in Africa and run it by Africans themselves,” she said.

Mukalazi stressed that the estimates presented by the delegation would require technical assessment by Dangote’s team. The minister argued that the proposed refinery could complement the group’s planned refinery in Lamu, Kenya, by serving inland markets, while the coastal facility supplied maritime and coastal markets. Beyond oil refining, Uganda presented opportunities in fertiliser blending, phosphate processing and salt manufacturing, describing them as potentially connected investments that could share infrastructure and distribution networks.

“Our crude, our phosphate, our salt are waiting to be turned into fuel, fertilisers and chemicals here in Africa and in Uganda by Africans,” Mukalazi said.

She conveyed an invitation for Dangote to visit Uganda for further discussions, assuring the group that the government would work to remove investment bottlenecks.

“Uganda needs Dangote, and now is the right time. Our country is ready and moving rapidly towards industrialisation,” she said. “He would bring investment, technology and opportunities for local participation, as we have seen here today. He has demonstrated what is possible elsewhere, and we believe he can do the same in Uganda.”

Mukalazi said the potential benefits extended beyond capital investment to skills development, employment and opportunities for local businesses.

“As the minister responsible for investment, I want to assure Alhaji Dangote that the government will support his investment and work to remove bottlenecks,” she said. “Beyond the investment itself, there would be opportunities for knowledge transfer and employment, particularly for young people.”

Uganda Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr Musenero said the delegation had come both to learn from the group’s experience and to explore practical collaboration in developing Uganda’s petroleum and fertiliser industries. She identified fertiliser production as a particular opportunity, explaining that Uganda had mineral resources suitable for manufacturing but had struggled to convert them into finished products.

“We also have minerals that can be used to produce fertilisers, but our efforts to convert those resources into fertilisers have not been very successful. Here, we have seen a very large fertiliser manufacturing facility,” she said. “This is Africa-to-Africa collaboration. We believe Dangote can operate very successfully in Uganda.”

Describing the facilities as a new benchmark for African industrial ambition, Musenero said the tour had demonstrated the scale of investment African businesses could undertake.

“This is setting a new standard for African thinking and for what we believe we can achieve. Sometimes, we think too small,” she said. “After our discussions and seeing the scale of these facilities, I wish I could convince him to fly back with us so that we could start tomorrow.”

She said Uganda wanted an early follow-up visit and that the proposed collaboration already enjoyed political support.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, David Bird, said the participation of two ministers demonstrated Uganda’s commitment to exploring an industrial partnership.

“Uganda has incredible natural resources and human capital. As both ministers have expressed during this visit, there is also no shortage of ambition or political will to pursue industrialisation,” he said.

Bird said the engagement provided an opportunity to identify common interests and explore collaboration within the group’s wider expansion strategy.

“The visit demonstrates the strength of the relationship and the importance attached to identifying common ground, exploring opportunities and strengthening our expansion into East Africa as part of Vision 2030,” he said.