Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, has appointed Engineers India to oversee the construction of a planned refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu, Kenya. The Indian government-owned engineering company has signed a $450 mn agreement with Dangote for the project, according to a Bloomberg report.

The greenfield facility is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Construction is planned to begin by the end of September, with the overall project cost estimated at $16 bn on completion.

Engineers India said in a filing cited by Bloomberg that the Kenyan facility could strengthen fuel production in East Africa, reduce the region’s dependence on imports and support energy security. The company’s appointment expands its involvement in Dangote’s energy ventures beyond Nigeria.

Engineers India previously worked as a consultant on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals complex in Lagos and is overseeing its expansion. The Lagos refinery currently has capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, which Dangote plans to increase to 1.4 mn barrels per day by 2029.

The Lamu project would extend Dangote’s refining operations from Africa’s Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean. He also plans to develop a pipeline linking Lamu with Ethiopia and another connection between Djibouti and Ethiopia, as part of a proposed 4,000-km network serving landlocked countries in the region.

Dangote’s net worth is estimated at $35.5 bn on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He plans to invest as much as $50 bn over the next four years to expand his business across Africa and is targeting revenue of $100 bn for Dangote Group by 2030.