Aliko Dangote is not done building. Having delivered Africa's largest refinery and its biggest fertiliser plant, Nigeria's wealthiest businessman has turned his attention to the ocean and to a port that could anchor his entire industrial empire's next chapter.
Dangote Industries Limited has begun preliminary processes for the execution of a multi-billion-dollar deep-seaport project at Olokola, projected to become Africa's largest deep-sea port and a core component of the Group's Vision 2030 agenda targeting $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
The project is an industrial enclave of over 10,000 hectares, sited within the Olokola Free Trade Zone spanning the Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State and extending eastward to the borders of Ilaje Local Government in Ondo State along the Atlantic coastline in the Gulf of Guinea.
A high-powered Dangote delegation led by the Managing Director of Infrastructure and Logistics, Capt. Jamil Abubakar has already engaged host communities in both Ogun and Ondo states, accompanied by land and estate surveyors and environmental consultants. The visits yielded a critical early-stage outcome.
A major result was the approval and support of two monarchs, Lenuwa of Ode-Omi, Oba Folailu Adekunle Hassan, and the Alara of Araromi Seaside Kingdom, Oba Adeoloye Olawole, for the Dangote Group to mobilise to the project site and begin surveying, household enumeration, assessment of economic trees, and compensation planning for affected settlements.
Capt. Abubakar said the port, when completed, would form the logistics backbone for Dangote Industries, facilitating exports of fertilisers, petrochemicals, and refined petroleum products; supporting future LNG exports; and enabling the import of heavy equipment and industrial inputs. He added: "The Olokola Port project is a major step in opening up Nigeria's economic potential, strengthening trade, reducing pressure on existing ports, and supporting industrial growth. With its strategic location, Olokola would serve as a key gateway for exports and imports, boosting Nigeria's competitiveness in regional and global trade."
The project has received federal backing. President Tinubu approved the immediate take-off of the Olokola Deep Seaport in January 2026, with Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun describing the facility to be known as the Blue Marine Economic Zone, as infrastructure that would significantly ease congestion at Lagos ports and unlock major commercial potential.
The project is expected to generate significant direct and indirect employment, attract foreign direct investment, and stimulate logistics, manufacturing, and services while strengthening Nigeria's position under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The proposed Atlantic seaport in Olokola lies approximately 100 kilometres from Dangote's fertiliser plant and oil refinery in Lagos, a geographic alignment that is clearly no accident. This is not just a port. It is the missing logistics link in a vertically integrated industrial ecosystem that Dangote has spent over a decade assembling.
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