Envoy wants Dangote to invest in Tanzania’s petroleum industry

Joy Obakeye

Impressed by the vastness of the Dangote Refinery currently under construction, the Commissioner in the High Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr Muhidini Ally Mboweto, has sought the assistance of Africa’s foremost entrepreneur Aliko Dangote in the development of his country’s energy sector, specifically petroleum. The Commissioner who led a delegation from Tanzania High Commission and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) on a study tour of the Dangote Refinery and Fertilizer plants to seek collaboration between Dangote Group and the Tanzanian government in making the country self-sufficient in petroleum products said his country needs similar investment. Specifically, the ambassador appealed to Aliko Dangote to replicate his huge investment in the country’s cement and refinery industries into Tanzania’s petroleum refining sector. Speaking after the tour of the Refinery and Fertiliser plants, Mboweto said Tanzania possesses vast natural resources and is endowed with unique comparative advantages thus offering exceptionally attractive opportunities to investors. The ambassador flaunted Tanzania’s minerals potential which are gas, gold, diamonds, and gemstones including tanzanite, base metals and a host of other minerals and disclosed that Tanzania has bilateral trade agreements with eight countries it shares borders with including the Indian Ocean, describing them as potential markets for investors. He stated: “Tanzania has a politically stable economy; it is surrounded by eight countries and six are landlocked, so their ports depend on Tanzania. Also, we are the member to East Africa Community, which include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. We are also part of 16-country members with an average of 400 million people. So, when investing you in Tanzania, you are exposed to this huge potential. “It is really worth investing in Tanzania because it will expose you to a large market. We want him (Dangote) to expand his investment in other areas of the economy. We have varieties of minerals, diamond, gold and other areas. You can invest in wildlife. We also have a lot of tourist attractions”, the High Commissioner added. He commended Dangote for helping to reduce the price of cement in Tanzania through his massive investment in the country’s cement industry. “Dangote Cement is already in Tanzania and the plant is doing very well. So, the Dangote cement plant has made a huge contribution to our cement demand. Now the majority of people in Tanzania can access cement for their building construction,” he added. Production Manager, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, Mr Modestus Martin Lumato, called on Aliko Dangote to partner the Tanzania oil company to set up a refinery plant in the country. He said about six countries are depending on Tanzania for petroleum products, thus the need for the collaboration between the two countries. “The Tanzanian petroleum product market is huge. We are also looking forward to buying petroleum products from Nigeria when the refinery is completed.” Presenting the status of the refinery project, Head, Quality Assurance /Quality Control, Dangote Oil Refinery Company Limited, Rama Rao Putta, disclosed that erection of the refinery equipment has started. He listed some of the equipment, which has arrived at the site of the Dangote Refinery to include, the RFCC Reactor Regenerator being shipped by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Propylene Recovery Unit, Penex Stabilizer, Penex Feed Surge Drum, RFCC riser, Heat Exchanger and several others.