Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has submitted an application to develop a seaport near his fertilizer and oil refinery complexes, aiming to ease the export of products such as liquefied natural gas and further drive the rapid expansion of his industrial empire. Dangote revealed in an interview in Lagos that he filed the paperwork in late June for approval to construct what he describes as “the biggest, deepest port in Nigeria.” According to Bloomberg, the planned Atlantic seaport at Olokola in Ogun State is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) by road from Dangote’s fertilizer plant and petrochemical refinery in Lagos. Currently, Dangote exports urea and fertilizer through an on-site jetty, which also handles the delivery of heavy equipment for the refinery, Bloomberg reported. The proposed port is expected to strengthen the logistics and export capacity of Dangote’s conglomerate and compete with other major facilities in Lagos, including the Chinese-funded Lekki Deep Sea Port, which commenced operations in 2023. “It’s not that we want to do everything by ourselves, but I think doing this will encourage other entrepreneurs to come into it,” he said. The port marks the billionaire’s return to the same site where he had previously abandoned plans to build his giant refinery and fertilizer complex after wrangling with local authorities. The tensions have since been mended under a new administration. Dangote also plans to export liquefied gas from Lagos, a project that will involve constructing pipelines from Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, vice-president of the group Devakumar Edwin said in another interview. “We want to do a major project to bring more gas than what NLNG is doing today,” he said, referring to Nigeria LNG Ltd., a joint-venture between the government, Shell Plc, Eni SpA and TotalEnergies SE, which is currently the continent’s largest exporter of LNG. He said: “We know where there is a lot of gas, so run a pipeline all through and then bring it to the shore.”