Nigeria’s Dangote Group, owned by Africa’s leading business tycoon Aliko Dangote, has set September 30 as the groundbreaking date for its largest oil refinery project in East Africa, in Lamu, Kenya.
According to Kenya’s Citizen newspaper, the plant will be the largest refinery project undertaken by the group outside Nigeria.
“We are launching it on September 30,” Dangote was quoted as saying.
The refinery, which is expected to take three years to complete, will supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and other countries in the region, helping to reduce East Africa’s reliance on imported fuel, according to the report.
The group also announced plans to sell shares in its Nigerian refinery within the next 10 to 12 days, with the initial public offering (IPO) expected to raise $5 billion, the report added.
Dangote also said the group plans to more than double the capacity of its Nigerian refinery, from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
The refinery reached its full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February and has since tested production at 700,000 barrels per day.
