Aliko Dangote, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, looks on during an interview with AFP in Nairobi on September 29, 2026. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)
Nairobi: Nigerian oil tycoon Aliko Dangote told AFP on Tuesday that Africa would largely supply its own refined fuel needs by 2030 as he prepared to launch a $16 billion refinery on the Kenyan coast.
Dangote will break ground on the east African oil refinery, with a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, on Wednesday. It is expected to take around 30 months to build.
Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Africa's richest man said he saw it as part of efforts to stop the continent exporting raw materials and start selling 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 from AFP on when Africa would no longer need to import fuel from elsewhere.
He dismissed concerns about the Kenyan project, which is being built at Lamu on the picturesque Indian Ocean coast, and already faces a land rights court case, and opposition from Greenpeace and others over its environmental impact.
"There's actually no problem with these sort of cases," Dangote said. "There are people who don't want the development of Africa."
