Oil tycoon, Aliko Dangote on Tuesday , predicted that Africa would largely supply its own refined fuel needs by 2030, just
as he prepared to launch a $16 billion refinery on the Kenyan coast.
Dangote will be breaking ground on the East African oil refinery, with a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, on Wednesday
The project is expected to take around 30 months to build.
Africa’s richest man who was speaking to reporters in Nairobi, 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.”
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