Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has joined Kenyan President William Ruto and other African leaders to officially break ground on a new $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
The massive project is being developed by Dangote Group and is designed to strengthen fuel production in East Africa while reducing the region’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in Lamu, with leaders from several African countries attending the event. The refinery is expected to process about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day when completed.
Dangote said the project represents a major step towards greater energy self-sufficiency on the continent, stressing the need for Africa to process more of its own natural resources rather than exporting raw materials and importing finished products.
The Nigerian businessman said the refinery would help meet the growing demand for petroleum products across East Africa, where several countries still rely heavily on imported fuel.
The facility is expected to supply products including petrol, diesel and aviation fuel to Kenya and other markets across the region. Reuters reported that the refinery is scheduled for completion around 2030.
The Lamu project is also expected to create significant economic opportunities through construction, energy, logistics and related industries. Dangote has previously indicated that the project could create tens of thousands of jobs.
Kenya has offered the project as part of its broader plan to strengthen its position as a regional energy and industrial hub, while governments in the region have been offered a combined 30 percent stake in the refinery.
The choice of Lamu was influenced by the area's deep-water port and infrastructure, which Dangote said offered advantages for handling heavy refinery equipment and crude oil shipments.
However, the project is not without opposition. Local residents have raised land ownership and compensation concerns, while environmental groups have expressed concerns about the potential impact of the refinery on Lamu’s sensitive coastal and marine ecosystem. Legal challenges surrounding the project are also ongoing.
Despite those concerns, construction has now officially begun.
For Dangote, the Kenyan refinery represents an expansion of the industrial strategy behind his 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.
If completed as planned, the Lamu facility could become one of Africa’s major refining projects and play a significant role in supplying petroleum products to East African markets.
The project also reinforces Dangote’s push for greater African industrialisation, with the businessman positioning local refining capacity as part of a broader effort to reduce the continent’s dependence on imported finished petroleum products.