Dangote Industries has selected Lamu, Kenya, as the site for a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery, which would become East Africa’s largest refining facility if completed.
The company said soil testing was underway and engineering and design work had begun. Dangote Industries Vice President for Oil and Gas Edwin Devakumar told Reuters that construction could take up to three years and that the project would be financed through internal cash generation, bonds and a planned initial public offering.
Speaking on Friday during the rollout of the second tranche of Kenya’s National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement programme, President William Ruto said he had held discussions with Aliko Dangote and that the proposed refinery was expected to create about 60,000 jobs.
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Ruto said the planned facility was intended to serve Kenya and regional markets including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The job estimate and proposed destination markets were outlined by Ruto.
The refinery is planned for Lamu, which hosts Lamu Port, a central component of the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor, or LAPSSET. The regional infrastructure programme was designed to connect Lamu with Ethiopia and South Sudan through roads, railways and petroleum pipelines, including a proposed product-oil pipeline towards Addis Ababa.
