Aliko Dangote says the Dangote Group is preparing to pour more than $10 billion into electricity generation over the next few years, and that it may scrap one or two of its other businesses, steel among them, to raise the money.

The billionaire industrialist made the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera published on Monday. He argued that reliable power is the foundation of any serious growth story, saying the continent cannot keep accepting a situation in which more than 600 million Africans live without electricity. He predicted a major transformation across Africa within three to four years and said that was the reason his group was turning its attention to power.

According to him, growth simply cannot happen without it. He also suggested that political leaders who succeed in delivering electricity would hardly need to campaign hard for another term.

The announcement is a statement of intent rather than a detailed project plan. Dangote did not name the countries where the money would go, the type of fuel the plants would use, or when any of them would start operating, and no sites or signed financing have been made public. In May, he spoke of a 20,000 megawatt power project, again without a published location or funding structure.

The mention of steel is notable because Dangote had listed it, alongside power and ports, as one of the group’s next big priorities in a New York Times interview in March.

Dropping it now would mark a change of emphasis, although he has not confirmed that any exit has been decided.

For now, the group’s core operations remain cement, fertiliser and the Lagos refinery, which is being expanded towards 1.4 million barrels a day. The group already generates well over 650 megawatts at its refinery and fertiliser complex, mostly for its own use. A large power investment would sit alongside those industrial assets rather than replace them, unless the steel exit is formally confirmed.