Africa's wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, announced that he has negotiated loans amounting to US$4.25 billion to fund the construction of a refinery to help the African continent's biggest crude oil producer be weaned from gasoline imports.

In an interview with Ryan Chilcote of Bloomberg TV at Cape Town, Dangote said, refining 'is an excellent business to get into.' He added, "We have already secured US$4.25 billion - two offshore banjs and the rest are Nigerian banks."

Nigeria is one of the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries but it imports 70% of oil products its domestic market requires. The four refineries in the country process less than 445,000 barrels per day due to poor maintenance and aging machinery. In crude oil terms, the country exports nearly 1.8 million barrels per day.

Dangote is said to be worth US$20 billion and is the 34th wealthiest according to the Bloomberg Bilionaires' Index. He coAntrols Dangote Cement Plc, the largest producer of cement in Africa through his Dangote Group.