The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to open within the next 10 to 12 days, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said.

Dangote disclosed this while speaking to investors and analysts during a visit to Botswana, according to a Reuters report.

He said the planned offering was part of the group’s broader strategy to expand the refinery’s capacity, with a long-term target of increasing production to 1.4 million barrels per day.

“So our dream is that we want to make sure we double the capacity of the refinery … which will take us to 1.4 million barrels per day,” Dangote said.

“The IPO will open in the next 10 to 12 days,” he added.

The refinery, Africa’s largest, is expected to seek to raise about $5 billion through the offering, which could potentially become the continent’s largest IPO.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day facility reached its full nameplate capacity in February and has subsequently tested production levels of about 700,000 barrels per day.

Dangote does not publicly disclose the refinery’s profit margins, although the global refining industry has benefited from stronger margins amid disruptions in the Middle East and increased demand for alternative fuel supplies.

Meanwhile, Dangote said the secondary listing of Dangote Cement on the London Stock Exchange was likely to take place in October.

The proposed listing of the cement company, another major business within the Dangote Group, is expected to broaden its access to international investors and global capital markets.

Dangote also disclosed plans to establish a new refinery on Kenya’s coast in partnership with East African governments.

According to him, the project, which is expected to take up to three years to complete, would supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries, helping to reduce the region’s dependence on imported fuels.

“We are launching it on September 30,” Dangote told Reuters, describing the proposed project as the group’s largest refining investment outside Nigeria.