Nigeria will soon commission a $1.3-billion basic chemicals plant in Nigeria that it is building with the Moroccan government. The dual-government partnership deal was first signed in June 2018 and aims to facilitate fertilizer production using gas reserves, to improve Nigerian agriculture and to enhance bilateral trade between the countries.
The OCP Group* and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority are heading the project.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari made the announcement on March 25 to the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria, PM News reported.
Buhari stated that the plant will complement existing Dangote and Indorama Chemicals facilities that produce urea, ammonia and other industrial raw materials. He added that the plant will produce ammonia, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid and various nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and diammonium phosphate fertilizers.
In early March, a Nigerian delegation led by Petroleum Resources Minister Timipre Marlin Sylva visited Morocco to discuss the project’s next steps after a call between President Buhari and Moroccan King Mohammed VI, North Africa Post reported.
The plant will serve as a multipurpose industrial platform in Nigeria. It will use Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000 tons of ammonia and 1 million tons of phosphate fertilizers annually by 2025.
Several days ago, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, unveiled his $2 billion fertilizer plant. By projections, it will have an annual production capacity of 3 million tons of urea and ammonia fertilizer, while generating $2.5 billion in yearly revenue. Production will commence in April.
*The OCP Group is a Moroccan state-owned phosphate rock miner, phosphoric acid manufacturer, and phosphate fertilizer producer.
