HARARE – Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is expected in Zimbabwe in mid-November after approving a package of investments in cement, coal and power generation worth about US$1 billion, the government said on Monday.
A delegation from local financial services firm Bard Santner, which will structure the deals, was in Nigeria on Monday laying the groundwork for the visit.
Paul Tungwarara, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s investment adviser, told journalists that preparations were underway for meetings between Mnangagwa and the petroleum tycoon.
“The richest man in Africa is coming to Zimbabwe at the invitation of President Mnangagwa,” Tungwarara said. “The two have been in constant communication and we are presently working on the logistical aspects of the visit.
“We are keen to ensure that he makes a significant investment in Zimbabwe and avoid what happened during his previous visit in 2015, when he came but did not return.”
Dangote’s 2015 visit ended inconclusively amid reports that a cabinet minister solicited a bribe, angering the businessman.
Journalist and business adviser Josephine Mahachi is believed to have played a key role in facilitating Dangote’s renewed interest in Zimbabwe.
The 68-year-old industrialist, worth an estimated US$30 billion according to Forbes, built the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria — a US$20 billion project inaugurated in May 2023.
His flagship company, Dangote Cement Plc, is a Nigerian publicly listed multinational with a production capacity of 52 million tonnes per year across 10 African countries.
In July, Dangote announced plans to construct fuel storage tanks in Namibia with capacity for 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel to supply refined fuel to southern Africa — part of a broader regional expansion drive.
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