Aliko Dangote has proposed building a $20 billion-scale refinery in East Africa, mirroring his Lagos project.
He spoke on April 23 at the Africa We Build Summit 2026 in Nairobi, addressing leaders including William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni.
The refinery is planned for Tanzania’s Tanga region. A pipeline would link it to Mombasa for distribution.
“Even now, I can give commitment to the two presidents who were here. If they will support the refinery, we’ll build an identical one to the one we have in Nigeria,” Dangote said.
The project would replicate the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which refines over 650,000 barrels per day.
He said it would produce petrol, diesel and jet fuel locally, reducing fuel imports.
Dangote also said his Lagos refinery is being expanded to 1.4 million barrels per day.
“We are building that one to a scale. 1.4 million barrels a day will be the largest refinery in the world. That’s number one. Number two, we’ll have 10 per cent of the entire United States of America’s refining capacity,” he said.
He criticised Africa’s reliance on imports.
“We are a continent of imports, and we’re not really exporting much,” he added.