Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote said Tuesday that most African nations will be self-sufficient in refined petroleum products by 2030, speaking to AFP in Nairobi ahead of the groundbreaking for a $16 billion refinery on Kenya’s coast.
Africa’s richest man is set to break ground Wednesday on the East African facility, which will have a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day and is expected to take roughly 30 months to complete.
Dangote framed the project as part of a broader push to end the continent’s reliance on exporting raw materials, arguing that African nations should instead process and sell finished goods themselves.
“By 2030, the majority of African countries will be self-sufficient,” he said, when asked when Africa would stop importing refined fuel from abroad. “It does not matter where it is refined, but it should be in the African continent, on the soil of Africa.”
He was blunt about the economic cost of the current model. “The biggest problem is that we export raw materials at maybe 5 to 10 percent of its value, and then we end up buying at 100 percent of its value,” he said.
Dangote also linked the practice to lost employment on the continent. “We are exporting jobs, because when we keep exporting raw materials, you are creating jobs out there,” he said. “And when you buy finished products from them… you are importing poverty, because you are not actually creating any jobs here.”
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