Aliko Dangote said on Monday that Africa will largely meet its refined fuel needs from domestic production by 2030, as he prepares to break ground on a major new refinery in Kenya.
Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Dangote said the $16 billion project on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast at Lamu, with a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, forms part of broader efforts to end the continent’s reliance on exporting raw materials and importing finished products.
“By 2030, the majority of African countries will be self-sufficient. It does not matter where it is refined, but it should be in the African continent, on the soil of Africa,” he said in response to a question about when Africa would no longer need to import fuel.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, with construction expected to take about 30 months. Dangote dismissed concerns over a land rights court case and environmental opposition to the project.
“There’s actually no problem with these sorts of cases,” he said. “There are people who don’t want the development of Africa.”
The refinery will initially source crude oil from the Middle East and the United States, and will process African crude as production rises in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, Dangote added.
He described the Kenyan facility as only a starting point. “When you talk about 700,000 barrels per day, it’s actually small. For the region, it’s a big refinery, it’s a big investment, but it is a start-up,” he said. “This refinery is not all we are going to do there. It’s just the start… You will see the number of industries that will come around the refinery.”
Dangote highlighted what he called Africa’s biggest economic challenge: “The biggest problem is that we export raw materials at maybe 5 to 10 per cent of its value, and then we end up buying at 100 per cent of their value. We are exporting jobs… and when you buy finished products from them… you are importing poverty.”
