By Barbara Nwaiwu
Aliko Dangote has unveiled plans for a 20,000 megawatt power project aimed at transforming Nigeria’s struggling electricity sector and supporting Africa’s industrial growth.
Dangote disclosed the ambitious project during a conversation with Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC)on Wednesday where he outlined his broader vision for Africa’s industrial revolution.
Speaking during the interview, Dangote said his group was expanding beyond refining, cement and fertiliser into the power sector as part of efforts to address some of Africa’s most pressing development challenges.
“We are now going into power 20,000 megawatts,” Dangote said, noting that energy, fertilisers and industrial inputs remained critical to the continent’s economic advancement.
Dangote said the project would build on the financial strength of his conglomerate, which recently commissioned a 650,000 barrel per day refinery and expanded its fertiliser operations.
According to him, the group’s businesses are becoming asset-light and generating stronger cash flows capable of supporting large-scale investments such as power generation.
Dangote also revealed plans to further deepen the company’s industrial expansion through investments in potash and phosphate mining in Congo and Brazil, liquefied natural gas projects and the construction of a deep-sea port.
“Today, in about two and a half years, we will be the largest fertiliser company in the world. We are putting up 12 million tons of urea. We are opening up mines of potash and phosphate in Congo and Brazil. We are building the biggest deep-sea port with an 18-meter draft. We are doing LNG,” he said.
The proposed 20,000MW project comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with chronic electricity shortages, with national grid supply frequently fluctuating around 3,000MW despite repeated government commitments to improve generation capacity.
Although the country reportedly reached a peak generation of 6,003MW in March 2025, the achievement was not sustained due to infrastructure vandalism and gas supply constraints.
The country’s power challenges have also continued to weigh heavily on economic productivity, with many households and businesses relying on diesel and petrol generators for electricity.
Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure currently struggles to wheel even 8,000MW without risking grid instability, while electricity distribution companies continue to face revenue collection challenges and mounting debts to generation firms and gas suppliers.
The announcement marks a major expansion of Dangote Group beyond petroleum refining, cement production and fertiliser manufacturing into large-scale electricity generation, positioning the conglomerate for a broader role in Africa’s industrial development.
