Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has announced plans to build a 650,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery in Tanzania, modelled after his existing facility in Lagos.
Mr Dangote made this known on Thursday during a panel session at an Africa Finance Corporation summit in Nairobi. He spoke alongside William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni.
The proposed refinery will be located in Tanga and is expected to process crude from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
“We are discussing that we are going to have a joint refinery in Tanga to benefit all of us,” he said.
“My commitment today here is that we will lead the refinery. We’ll make sure that that refinery is built within the next four to five years.”
Dangote said the planned facility would be identical in scale and capacity to the refinery operated by Dangote Group in Lagos.
“If they will support the refinery, we’ll build the identical one that we have in Nigeria,” he said.
The Lagos refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has begun supplying refined products to markets across Africa.
Dangote said earlier in April that the facility shipped about 17 cargoes of gasoline to other African countries.
He added that the refinery also produces up to three million metric tonnes of urea annually and is increasing supply within Africa.
The businessman said the company has the capacity to supply markets in West, Central and East Africa.
Dangote also said the group plans to expand the Lagos refinery’s capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
The expansion is being supported by funding from the African Export-Import Bank as part of a $4 billion loan arrangement.
In February, the group signed a $400 million agreement with XCMG Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. to support construction and expansion activities.
He said the expansion will also increase polypropylene production.
Dangote said the Tanzania refinery plan is part of efforts to increase refining capacity and supply across the continent.
East African countries import most of their refined petroleum products.
Mr Ruto said the planned refinery in Tanga would take crude from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
