Africa’s richest man Dangote goes bigger in Kenya as Ruto clears the way

Nairobi – Kenyan President William Ruto has pledged to fast-track the planned Dangote refinery in Lamu after touring the Nigerian billionaire’s massive refinery in Lagos, saying the Kenyan project will be even bigger.

Ruto visited the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos on Friday, ahead of the planned groundbreaking of the East Africa Refinery in Lamu on 30 September. The Nigerian facility has a design capacity of about 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

According to Business Insider Africa, Ruto said his government would accelerate administrative processes to prevent bureaucracy from delaying the Kenyan project.

“I just want to tell the Dangote family here that the government of Kenya is one hundred per cent behind your project, our project,” Ruto said.

“We are working on all the other enablers to make sure that we don’t spend time on doing administrative bureaucratic stuff.”

Punch reported that the Lamu refinery is planned to process 700,000 barrels per day, slightly above the Lagos facility’s 650,000-barrel-per-day design capacity.

Dangote said the Kenyan refinery would incorporate some equipment and processing capabilities not found at the Nigerian plant because of differences in the crude expected to be processed.

“Kenya will be a little bit bigger than what you are going to see,” Dangote told Ruto.

Regional energy hub

Ruto said the project would go beyond refining fuel and could help expand industrial activity across East Africa.

According to Star, Ruto expects the refinery to improve fuel security, support industrialisation and create about 60,000 jobs, while also attracting related industries such as fertiliser, chemicals and packaging manufacturing.

“This huge achievement is a testament to what African governments, investors and financial institutions can do together,” Ruto said after touring the Lagos facility.

The planned refinery is expected to form part of a wider industrial complex in Lamu, taking advantage of the area’s deep-water port and its position along the LAPSSET transport corridor.

Billionaires.Africa reported that the Kenyan government estimates the project at about $17 billion, although published estimates have ranged from $15 billion to $20 billion depending on what infrastructure is included.

The refinery is expected to supply Kenya and other regional markets, including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, Reuters has highlighted challenges facing the project, particularly securing sufficient crude feedstock. East African producers currently do not produce enough oil to meet the refinery’s projected requirements, meaning supply arrangements will be critical to its viability.

Ruto said Kenya’s government was determined to move the project from planning to construction.

“We’re not looking at this as just a refinery,” he said. “We’re looking at a refinery that is also going to elevate our industrial scale.”

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 30 September, marking the next major step in Dangote’s expansion from Nigeria into East Africa.

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