Kenya: Construction of Dangote's Lamu Oil Refinery to Start in October

What the report says

Construction of the proposed Dangote oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya, is expected to begin in October, according to remarks by Aliko Dangote reported by Capital FM and carried by AllAfrica. The project was presented as a major new industrial investment for the coastal port area, with Dangote saying the team would break ground before construction starts.

The reported cost of the refinery is about Sh2 trillion, lower than an earlier estimate of Sh2.2 trillion. Dangote said the facility is planned to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day, which would make it the largest refinery in East Africa and the second-largest in Africa after his refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.

The report said Dangote first announced plans in April to expand his refining business into East Africa, and that the Lamu project is expected to follow the model of his Nigerian plant. If completed, the refinery would supply Kenya and nearby markets such as Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, potentially reducing dependence on imported refined fuel.

More broadly, the project fits into wider efforts in the region to expand energy infrastructure and local processing capacity, though the article did not provide a construction timeline beyond the planned October start.