Africa’s richest man is not slowing down and the ocean might just be his next frontier. Aliko Dangote, the billionaire industrialist behind one of Africa’s largest business empires, has filed plans to build what could become Nigeria’s biggest and deepest seaport. 

The proposed location? Olokola, a coastal town in Ogun State, not too far from his already sprawling oil refinery and fertilizer plants.

For Dangote, this isn’t just about ports and pipelines. It’s about control over logistics, over exports, and over the next phase of Nigeria’s industrial future.

A seaport with purpose

The planned Atlantic seaport is meant to complement and support Dangote’s industrial activities in Lagos, especially fertilizer and petrochemical exports. At the moment, the group relies on a private jetty to ship out products and bring in heavy equipment. 

But the new port, if completed, would significantly ramp up capacity and independence.

“It’s not that we want to do everything by ourselves,” Dangote reportedly said. 

“But I believe this kind of investment will inspire other entrepreneurs to get involved too.”

It’s a bold statement, but also a calculated move. With competitors like the 

Chinese-backed Lekki Deep Sea Port already operational, Dangote’s new project could shift the balance of power in Nigeria’s logistics landscape.

Beyond Fertilizer: Eyeing LNG Exports

This isn’t just about fertilizer, either. Dangote also wants to enter the liquefied natural gas (LNG) game. 

The plan includes building pipelines from Nigeria’s gas-rich Niger Delta to the proposed seaport, a major infrastructure project that would allow the group to start shipping LNG directly from Lagos.

According to Dangote Group’s Vice President, Devakumar Edwin, the goal is to bring in more gas than even Nigeria LNG Ltd (NLNG), the country’s current LNG export leader. That’s no small ambition, considering NLNG is backed by heavyweights like Shell, TotalEnergies, and the Nigerian government.

“We know where there is a lot of gas,” Dangote said, “so we’ll run a pipeline all the way and bring it to the shore.”

What you should know

Dangote isn’t shy about thinking big. Earlier this year, he said he expects his group’s annual revenue to hit $30 billion by next year. That would be more than most African countries generate in exports. 

He also aims to make Nigeria the world’s top exporter of urea, surpassing even Qatar in the next four years.

Behind these plans is a clear message: if Nigeria’s public infrastructure can’t keep up, private hands will take over. And in Dangote’s case, those hands are building ports, laying pipelines, and rewriting what’s possible in African industrialisation.

From cement to oil, and now to ocean trade, Dangote’s empire keeps growing, one mega-project at a time.