Dangote Cement has begun construction of a cement plant in Ethiopia that is expected to produce 2.5 million metric tonnes per, according to a report in VenturesAfrica.

Owner Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, said he would spend up to $15 billion investing around Africa in the next four to five years.

Tanzania recently celebrated ground-breaking of a $500 million Dangote cement factory said to be capable of producing 3 million metric tonnes per year.

Dangote Cement is Nigeria’s leading cement producer with three plants in Nigeria and plans to expand in 13 other African countries.

Ethiopian State Minister of Industry Tadesse Haile said construction of the plant signaled the beginning of a new business relationship between Nigeria and his country. It also opened a new window in Ethiopia’s quest for foreign investment.

Dangote has invested approximately $8 billion in an oil refinery and another $2 billion in fertilizer in Nigeria.