Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji would like to invest $100 million in a $17 billion crude oil refinery that the continent’s richest person is planning for Africa’s east coast.

Aliko Dangote intends to replicate his 700 000 barrel-per-day Nigerian facility in Kenya. Tanzania was initially considered a possible location for the plant, which when completed will be the second-biggest on the continent.

Dangote has said that Lamu, a coastal town in southeastern Kenya, was chosen as a site for “commercial and technical” reasons, without elaborating.

“I would lean more toward Tanzania than in Kenya,” Dewji said in an interview on Thursday, but didn’t rule out his participation should Dangote settle on a site in the region’s biggest economy.

Dewji is yet to discuss his ambitions with Dangote and said he’d “definitely reach out to him and we can chat about it.”

A Dangote executive said there was plenty of investor interest in the project, which Kenyan President William Ruto expects to begin this year.

“So many potential investors have been approaching us,” the executive said.

Do your due diligence before investing in real estate – GhanaWeb CEO David Antwi