Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), says the Dangote Group has paid back 70 percent of the loans it took to
construct an oil refinery.
Emefiele spoke at the commissioning of the 650,000 barrels
per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery in Lagos on Monday.
The CBN boss said the refinery was initially estimated to
cost just about $9 billion but the project cost escalated and was eventually
completed with a total of $18.5 billion.
The amount, he said, constituted 50 percent equity
investment by Dangote and 50 percent debt finance by banks.
Emefiele said the commercial loan component of the project
was financed majorly by domestic banks while the rest was provided by foreign
banks.
He added that the CBN also partnered with the Dangote Group
to ensure successful completion of the project by providing over N125 billion
for domestic currency requirements while also ensuring the availability of
foreign exchange (FX) to pay for imported equipment.
“We have it on good authority that the Dangote Group has
paid off some portion of these commercial loans even before this commissioning
today,” Emefiele said.
“Today, total loans
outstanding have dropped from over $9 billion when this project started to N2.7
billion. This reflects the astute credit worthiness and commercial capability
of the group and its chairman, Alhaji Dangote.
“I must at this juncture appreciate all the participating
local Nigerian banks, who did not only partner with the project through
effective financing but were keenly aware of the importance of the project for
our nation.
“They provided immense support and exceptional
understanding, even when interest payments and principal repayment had fallen
due.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com