Dangote Group will commence construction of its proposed $17bn oil refinery in Kenya by the end of September, with the project expected to be completed within three years.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, disclosed this on Monday at the opening of the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE in Lagos.

The announcement comes as the Dangote refinery’s IPO begins trading, with the public offer expected to raise about $1.6bn and value the business at nearly $50bn.

The share sale has also sparked an unprecedented digital push among Nigerian stockbrokers, banks and fintech firms seeking to attract investors, with the IPO targeting up to 10 million participants.

The proposed refinery will be built in Lamu, on Kenya’s coast, at an estimated cost of $17bn and is expected to take about three years to complete. The project will extend Dangote’s refining operations beyond West Africa into East Africa.

“There’s a lot of value in Africa. Africa is like a scratch card unless you scratch it, you will not see the use of it. The opportunities are immense,” Dangote said.

Dangote said construction is expected to begin by the end of September, as part of his broader strategy to expand the group’s energy business across Africa.

The billionaire also revealed plans to expand the group’s energy infrastructure beyond the Kenyan refinery, including the development of a 2,650-kilometre pipeline linking Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

“We are also taking up another line, which will now go to Zimbabwe,” Dangote said, adding that work on the project will start next month.

The proposed Kenya refinery forms part of Dangote Group’s wider expansion across Africa and is expected to mirror the scale and design of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, currently Africa’s largest single-train refinery.

In July, a spokesperson for Dangote Industries Limited said the planned refinery on Kenya’s coast was estimated to cost $17bn and could take about five years to complete.

The project is expected to significantly expand Dangote’s refining operations beyond Nigeria, establishing a stronger presence in East Africa and extending the group’s energy footprint from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.