LAGOS, Sept 30 – Dangote Projects Ltd, the construction arm of Dangote Industries Limited, has expanded its construction equipment fleet to nearly 7,000 units, according to Group Vice President Edwin Devakumar.
Devakumar disclosed the figure during a briefing on Friday when Kenyan President William Ruto visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos. He said the company initially acquired thousands of pieces of equipment to meet the construction requirements of the refinery before expanding its fleet as the group added major fertiliser and refinery projects.
Dangote Projects initially purchased 2,563 pieces of construction equipment, including 320 cranes, for the refinery project.
“So, we had to go and buy all our own construction equipment. You can see at that phase, we bought 2,563 pieces of construction equipment, including 320 cranes. So, we became the second-largest construction company in the world at that time in terms of construction equipment,” Devakumar said.
He added that the group subsequently purchased more than 4,000 additional pieces of equipment as its industrial projects expanded.
“Today, we are the largest. Because of the expansion of the fertiliser and refinery projects, we have bought more than an additional 4,000 pieces of equipment. So, they are now close to 7,000 construction equipment, making us the largest construction company in the world,” he said.
Devakumar said the equipment purchases were driven largely by the limited construction capacity available locally for a project of the refinery’s scale.
Dangote had approached major Nigerian construction companies before work began, but the companies indicated that they lacked the equipment and capacity required. Bringing foreign contractors into the project would also have required heavy machinery to be shipped into Nigeria and subsequently removed.
Building its own equipment base allowed Dangote to develop the construction capacity required not only for the refinery but also for subsequent fertiliser and refinery projects.
Building Infrastructure Around the Refinery
The scale of the Lagos refinery project required Dangote to develop several supporting capabilities alongside its construction equipment fleet.
The company established its own concrete production capacity after determining that ready-mixed concrete was not available locally in the quantities required. It invested in a quarry with a capacity of 10 million tonnes per year and secured the necessary mining licence and environmental approvals.
The group also acquired 8,200 concrete pumps and 203 transit mixers to support construction and material movement across the site.
Dangote built a dedicated port after determining that existing port infrastructure could not accommodate some of the refinery’s heaviest equipment. According to Devakumar, the largest piece of equipment transported to the project weighed approximately 3,000 tonnes.
The project also required extensive accommodation and support infrastructure. Dangote developed facilities capable of housing approximately 50,000 people, while the workforce reached about 63,000 at its peak.
The accommodation facilities also played a role during the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing workers to be isolated within the project environment.
The refinery site itself was initially largely undeveloped, with more than 70% of the area covered by swamp. Dangote used swamp buggies to clear the site and pumped sand from offshore to raise the land, while taking measures intended to minimise disruption to fishermen operating in the surrounding area.
Dangote Prepares for Kenya Refinery
The construction capabilities developed through the Lagos project are set to support Dangote’s expansion into another major African refining project.
The group is preparing to break ground on its proposed Lamu refinery in Kenya on September 30, 2026. The project is planned as a large-scale refinery and petrochemical complex with a 700,000-barrel-per-day processing capacity.
The development is also expected to include a 1,000-megawatt power plant, with half of the electricity potentially supplied to the Kenyan government. The planned generating capacity is twice that of the power facility associated with the Lagos refinery.
Engineers India Limited has been appointed to provide project management consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction management services under a contract valued at more than $450 million.
Dangote Expands Refining and Capital Investment
Dangote Group is simultaneously expanding its Lagos refinery, with plans to increase crude-processing capacity from approximately 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
The expansion includes a new 750,000-barrel-per-day crude distillation unit. The group expects the Lagos expansion to be completed by 2028, while the refinery has separately targeted reaching 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
Dangote Group reported approximately $17 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 and is targeting about $36 billion for the full year, compared with $18 billion in 2025.
The group also plans to invest approximately $50 billion in capital expenditure between 2026 and 2030, double the $25 billion invested during the previous five-year period.
The spending forms part of Dangote’s Vision 2030 strategy, which is focused on expanding its industrial footprint across Africa and building the group toward its long-term objective of becoming a $100 billion company.
