East Africa is set to gain a major industrial and energy infrastructure project with the groundbreaking of a $16 billion petroleum refinery and petrochemicals complex in Lamu, Kenya, designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily and serve markets across the region.
The Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals project, expected to be completed within 40 months, is also projected to generate up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity and produce polypropylene and base oil as part of the integrated complex.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Kenyan President William Ruto and other African leaders, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the project would be executed at speed, drawing on experience gained from delivering the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
Dangote said equipment and technical resources had already begun mobilisation for the project, which he described as an opportunity to demonstrate Africa’s capacity to deliver complex industrial projects at globally competitive scale and speed.
Beyond refining capacity, the project is expected to create employment and develop local technical skills. Dangote said qualified graduates from Lamu would be offered opportunities on the project, while more than 1,000 young people from the county would receive technical and vocational training.
The Group is also expected to establish a training school to develop the technical workforce required for the refinery, with emphasis on preparing local people for construction and subsequent operations.
“We want young Kenyans and East Africans with skills here. We want local businesses to become suppliers. We want entrepreneurs around this project,” Dangote said.
He said the project’s success should also be measured by the skills acquired by young people, businesses created around the investment and improved livelihoods in host communities.
“Industrialisation must have a human face. It must create dignity. It must create jobs. It must create opportunities. It must create hope,” he said.
President Ruto put the cost of the development at $16 billion, equivalent to about KSh2 trillion, describing it as a generational investment designed to serve Kenya and the wider Eastern African region.
He said current projections indicated that the project could generate about 60,000 direct and indirect jobs, while the construction phase was expected to inject more than KSh2 billion monthly in wages into the economy.
Ruto directed technical and vocational institutions and universities to prepare welders, technicians, engineers and managers for the opportunities, with particular attention to young people from Lamu and neighbouring communities.
The project will also have a regional ownership component, with Dangote announcing that 30 per cent equity in the refinery would be made available to East African countries.
He said Kenya and Rwanda had already moved to take advantage of the opportunity, describing the ownership model as part of a broader effort to ensure African countries participate in the ownership and value created by major industrial projects.
The refinery is designed to serve Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other regional markets.
“This refinery is therefore not simply about one country. It is about a region,” Dangote said.
He argued that Africa needed to move away from exporting crude oil, minerals and agricultural commodities while importing finished products derived from them.
“Africa cannot build lasting prosperity by exporting what it has and importing what it needs,” he said. “We must refine more of what we produce. We must process more of what we produce. We must retain more value here at home in Africa.”
Lamu County Governor Issa Timamy said the project could transform the economic prospects of the county, particularly by creating opportunities for young people and local businesses.
Timamy criticised attempts to stop the project through litigation, arguing that those opposing the development did not represent the aspirations of Lamu residents.
He, however, called for the protection of the county’s mangroves, fishing grounds, coastline and cultural heritage, stressing the need to balance industrial development with environmental protection.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who joined other African leaders in celebrating the project, said Dangote’s transition from trading and importation into large-scale manufacturing demonstrated the potential of African entrepreneurship when supported by an enabling policy environment.
He said the Lamu investment could further deepen economic integration between West and East Africa and demonstrate what African businesses could achieve at scale.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni supported the regional ownership proposal, saying African countries should participate in processing their raw materials and retain the jobs and wealth generated from industrial production.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the refinery would strengthen East Africa’s energy security and reduce the region’s vulnerability to disruptions in global petroleum markets.
“East Africa is not only a market. It is a place to produce, to build and to create value,” Abiy said.