The chairman of the Dangote group said on Monday (22), during the inauguration of the new refinery in Nigeria, the largest in Africa, that the plant will be "one of the most important on the continent and in the world".

"A Our first priority is to increase production to ensure that this year we will be able to fully satisfy our nation's demand for high-quality oil products, to end the tragedy of import dependency and stop once and for all being the dumping ground for toxic and low-quality products," said Aliko Dangote.

The plant will start production at the end of July, added the leader of the Dangote group during the official inauguration of the refinery, which will also be a fertilizer plant, with the capacity to export 40% of production.

At the ceremony, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, that the project shows the importance of partnerships with the private sector "to accelerate economic growth across the continent".

After years of delays, Africa's largest refinery aims to reduce fuel imports in the region's most populous country.

The inauguration takes place a week before President Buhari steps down after two terms in office marked by a serious deterioration in the economic situation of the country, which is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.

The aim of the refinery is to process 650,000 barrels a day when it is at full capacity, which would make it one of the largest industrial complexes on the continent and could change the situation in Nigeria.

Although the country is one of Africa's largest oil producers, it imports almost all of its fuel due to the failure of its state-owned refineries.

Nigeria exchanges its billions of dollars of crude oil for imported fuel, which it then subsidizes to keep the market price artificially low.

According to analysts quoted by Agence France-Presse, this system encourages corruption and prevents the state from investing heavily in key sectors such as health and education, while almost half of Nigerians live in extreme poverty.

The new facilities occupy 2,635 hectares of land in the Lekki free trade zone, and cost around 19 billion dollars, according to local media, more than double the 9 billion dollars announced when the project was launched.

The vast industrial complex also includes a fertilizer factory worth 2 billion dollars, with a production capacity of three million tons a year. (noam)