Dangote to Build Kenya Refinery, Pipeline to the South

Africa's biggest oil-refining company will begin construction of its second facility on Kenya's coast at the end of the month. The complex, to be built at Lamu, is expected to be completed within three years.

Aliko Dangote, the continent's richest businessman, made the announcement about the planned refinery at the launch of his energy company's initial public offering in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. The IPO stands as the largest in Africa's history.

Dangote also announced that the company is planning a 2,650-kilometer pipeline running from Namibia through Botswana to South Africa. "We are also taking up another line, which will now go to Zimbabwe," he said, adding that work on it will begin next month.

Dangote is expected to raise about $1.6 billion from the IPO, which is projected to value the energy business at nearly $50 billion. The offering is part of his plans to build an Africa-wide energy empire: the capacity of the Nigerian refinery will be doubled to make it one of the world's largest, while the Kenyan facility will extend the company's reach from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.