The Dangote Group President said the company expects to break ground on the refinery by October, paving the way for construction of what is expected to become one of Africa’s largest refining projects.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Dangote said the company was confident that construction would commence shortly after the groundbreaking.

Refinery expected to take less than four years

Dangote said the refinery could be completed in less than four years once construction begins, a timeline he believes will help lower the overall cost of the project.

The estimated investment has also been revised downward to about $16 billion from the earlier projection of $17 billion. According to Dangote, the lower cost would partly reflect the company’s experience from constructing its 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos, Nigeria. He said completing the Kenyan project more quickly would also reduce financing expenses and improve the efficiency of the investment.

“It will cost less because this one will be faster. In terms of financing costs, it will be less, and also we are wiser as a company than the time we built the refinery in Lagos,” Dangote said.

Project designed to serve East Africa

The proposed refinery is expected to serve a market much larger than Kenya, with Dangote describing it as an East African energy project.

He said the refinery would help strengthen fuel supply across the region and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.

“The refinery in East Africa makes a lot of sense because it is not only for Kenya and that is why we are calling it the East African refinery,” he said.

All Africa reports that the scale of the planned facility could significantly increase refining capacity in the region if completed as proposed, while providing an additional source of refined petroleum products for East African markets.

Dangote plans 70% debt financing

Financing remains a critical component of the multibillion-dollar project. Dangote said the company plans to finance the refinery through a combination of equity and debt. Under the proposed structure, about 30% of the investment will come from equity, while the remaining 70% will be funded through borrowing.

Despite the size of the investment, Dangote expressed confidence that the required funds could be raised.

“We don’t have any problem raising the money,” he said.

Push for greater African energy security

Beyond the commercial opportunity, Dangote said the project is aimed at strengthening energy security across Africa.

He argued that increased domestic refining capacity would reduce African countries’ exposure to disruptions in international fuel markets and lessen their dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

FG agrees to dollar swap deals with Dangote Refinery Legit.ng earlier reported that the Federal Government has agreed to provide foreign exchange to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in exchange for naira generated from petrol sales, a company official told journalists, marking a fresh attempt to salvage the troubled naira-for-crude arrangement.

A management official at the refinery, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said the agreement was reached on Friday, July 31, 2026.