Billionaire Aliko Dangote (left) with President William Ruto during the groundbreaking ceremony for Lamu refinery/PCSDangote Group president Aliko Dangote has sent a message of condolence to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the death of her husband.
Dangote delivered the message during the groundbreaking of the Sh2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu on Wednesday, where Suluhu was absent as she mourned her husband.
“I also want to send a special message of condolence to our sister, Her Excellency the President of Tanzania, as she mourns the passing of her dear husband. May the Almighty Allah bless his soul and comfort the family. My deepest gratitude goes to all the presidents of states,” Dangote said.
The ceremony was attended by several African leaders, including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Benin President Romuald Wadagni and Togo President Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové.
Suluhu’s absence comes as Kenya and Tanzania continue to feature in discussions around regional energy infrastructure and investment.
The Tanzanian leader had earlier been involved in discussions with President William Ruto over a proposed refinery at Tanga.
During Ruto’s visit to Tanzania, Suluhu publicly questioned the Kenyan President over his earlier announcement concerning a refinery in Tanga.
Ruto subsequently explained the regional thinking behind the proposal, while Dangote later said feasibility studies had identified Lamu as the preferred location for his refinery.
At Wednesday’s groundbreaking, Dangote thanked the African leaders and their representatives who attended, saying their presence demonstrated continental support for the project.
“...representatives of presidents who took time from their very, very pressing state matters and decided to honour the invitation by His Excellency President Ruto and register their support, just to show you that we in Africa were together and we will build our continent by ourselves,” he said.
Dangote also used the occasion to announce that his business group had earmarked $50 billion for investments across Africa under its current expansion plan, which runs until 2030.
He said the group had capacity to undertake projects in critical sectors including infrastructure, minerals, ports, power and chemicals.
“To your excellencies that are here, our African leaders, our group has actually earmarked $50 billion to roll out projects under our current plan, which ends in 2030,” Dangote said.
“All you have to do is tell us what you want, and our team will be ready to work with you and deliver it,” he added.
The announcement expands Dangote’s pitch beyond the Lamu refinery, with the Nigerian conglomerate signalling its intention to deepen investments across the continent.
Dangote said the company wanted to work with African governments on projects that could strengthen infrastructure, industrialisation and economic integration.
He also paid tribute to former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who attended the groundbreaking despite having travelled from London for the event.
Dangote thanked Obasanjo for cutting short his trip to attend the ceremony, describing his presence as a demonstration of support for the project.
The Lamu refinery is designed to process about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
Dangote said the facility would also produce one million tonnes of polypropylene and base oil, while creating a wider industrial ecosystem around energy, petrochemicals, logistics, engineering, manufacturing and marine services.
He separately announced plans to establish a training school in Lamu that will train 1,000 local people for opportunities created by the refinery and associated industries.
Dangote has set a 40-month target for completion of the refinery, saying African leaders attending the groundbreaking should return to Lamu to commission the facility.
