Dangote submits paperwork to build "biggest, deepest" port in Nigeria

Fertiliser, oil, liquefied natural gas, cement... The Dangote conglomerate, a group owned by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, is active in a range of industries.

Exporting its many products is key for the group - and now, plans for a new port could help with that.

Dangote reportedly submitted a construction proposal for a seaport located in Ogun state in southwestern Nigeria to the regional authorities in late June.

The project could be the biggest and deepest port in Nigeria. According to the proposal, the port would be constructed in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, a project initially abandoned by Dangote over unresolved issues with the previous local administration.

The port's planned location is around 100 km away from key Dangote fertilizer and petrochemical plants in Lagos. Initially, these plants were supposed to also be located in the Free Trade Zone in Ogun state, but the stalled negotiations between the conglomerate and the state's previous administration led to plants eventually being built near Lagos.

It is for now unclear whether the proposal for the new port has been accepted.