(Aliko Dangote. Photo by Channels TV)
A top corporate official confirmed on Tuesday that a 700,000-bpd East African oil refinery proposed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, will be constructed in Kenya, ending rumors over the project’s location.
Edwin Devakumar, the vice president in charge of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, told AFP that the enormous refinery, which resembles Dangote’s expansive facility in Nigeria, will be situated in Lamu, an island off the coast of Kenya.
Building the facility in the biggest economy in East Africa will take about 30 months.
Tanzania was initially one of the refinery’s possible destinations.
According to a statement from his office, Nigerian billionaire Dangote discussed “the commercial and technical considerations behind the Group’s decision to locate its planned East African refinery in Lamu” with President Samia Suluhu Hassan while in Tanzania late last month.
Tanzania was also invited to take part in the Lamu investment.
Prior to making the Lamu statement, the Nigerian businessman had stated that he was leaning toward the Kenyan city of Mombasa.
The largest refinery on the continent, Dangote’s 650,000-bpd facility in Nigeria went online in 2024.
By 2028, it intends to more than double its capacity to 1.4 million bpd, making it the largest refinery in the world.