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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has officially chosen Kenya as the location for his proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) East African refinery, ending months of speculation over where the mega project would be built.
A senior executive at Dangote Industries Limited confirmed that the refinery will be located in Lamu, a coastal town in Kenya, with construction expected to take about 30 months.
The announcement was made by Edwin Devakumar, Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries, who said the project would strengthen fuel production and energy supply across East Africa.
Initially, Tanzania was also considered as a possible location for the refinery.
During a recent visit to Tanzania, Dangote met with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and explained why the company eventually settled for Kenya.
According to a statement from his office, the billionaire also invited Tanzania to participate in the Lamu refinery investment.
The planned refinery is expected to mirror the success of the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, which began operations in 2024 and has significantly transformed Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.
Dangote has also announced plans to expand the Nigerian refinery’s capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, a move that could make it the largest refinery in the world.
The refinery has already begun exporting aviation fuel and petroleum products to countries including the United States, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania and Togo.
The latest investment in Kenya is expected to boost regional fuel production, reduce dependence on imported refined products and strengthen economic cooperation across East Africa.
Source: AFP
