Dangote’s Audacious Deep Seaport Plan for Ogun State

Aliko Dangote built the world’s largest single-train refinery, but he is not stopping there. His company has now begun preliminary work on a 10,000-hectare deep seaport at the Olokola Free Trade Zone in Ogun State, a project that signals a massive expansion into maritime infrastructure and export-driven industrialisation.

The proposed port, located in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area and extending toward Ilaje in Ondo State along the Atlantic coastline, is designed as a major logistics hub for exports, imports and regional trade. It will support exports of fertilisers, petrochemicals and refined petroleum products, and could eventually handle liquefied natural gas exports and heavy industrial equipment imports. The goal is to create an integrated industrial ecosystem that strengthens Nigeria’s competitiveness in regional and global trade.

A delegation led by the Managing Director of Infrastructure and Logistics, Captain Jamil Abubakar, has already visited host communities in both states to begin stakeholder engagements. The team met with traditional rulers including the Lenuwa of Ode-Omi, Oba Folailu  Hassan, and the Alara of Araromi Seaside Kingdom, Oba Adeoloye Olawole. Both monarchs welcomed the project and approved the commencement of surveys and household enumeration. The Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda also expressed support.

The Olokola port is part of Dangote’s broader Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to transform the conglomerate into a $100 billion global powerhouse. That vision includes doubling the refinery’s capacity from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day, a 20,000MW power project that would exceed Nigeria’s entire current grid capacity, and entry into steel production. The company is also exploring a second refinery in East Africa and scaling up fertiliser production to dominate global markets.

For host communities, the port represents jobs, business activities and long-term development. For Nigeria, it represents a bet that private industrial giants can build the infrastructure that government has struggled to deliver. Dangote is placing that bet. Now Ogun and Ondo states wait to see if it pays off.