The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that the massive risk he took with the Dangote Refinery, a venture that has redefined his wealth and transformed Africa’s energy sector is the biggest risk of his life.

The 67-year-old billionaire revealed that the final investment of the refinery surpassed $20 billion—more than double the initial budget.

In an exclusive interview with Forbes, Aliko Dangote revealed the challenges behind the monumental project.

Originally estimated at $10 billion, the cost of the refinery soared as Dangote pushed for an expanded scope, insisting on taking the project to a much larger scale than initially planned.

“If this didn’t work, I was dead,” he admitted to Forbes, acknowledging the enormity of the gamble he took when he first announced the refinery in 2013.

Dangote originally intended to build the refinery in southwest Nigeria but faced delays from disputes with local officials.

In response, he made a strategic shift, relocating the project to the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos and paying $100 million to acquire the land.

However, the relocation came with its own challenges, as the swampy land required dredging 65 million cubic meters of sand and building a port to enable transportation.

The financing of the refinery was equally ambitious. To fund the project, Dangote secured $5.5 billion in bank loans and sold stakes in his cement business, raising $600 million from investors, including Dubai’s investment corporation and an Australian sovereign wealth fund.

Despite the challenges, the Dangote Refinery began operations in 2024. Located on a 6,200-acre site, it started with a capacity of 350,000 barrels of crude per day, increasing to 500,000 barrels per day by January.

Set to reach full capacity next month, the refinery will process a remarkable 650,000 barrels per day, positioning it as the seventh-largest refinery globally and the largest in Africa.