KEY POINTS
- Ruto will tour Dangote’s Lagos refinery on Friday.
- Kenya plans to break ground on the Lamu refinery on September 30.
- The Ksh2.2 trillion project is planned to process 700,000 barrels daily.
Kenyan President William Ruto is set to visit the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos on Friday as Kenya prepares to begin construction of a major refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu.
The visit will bring Ruto and Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote together days before the planned groundbreaking ceremony for the Kenyan project, which is expected to become one of the largest refinery developments in East Africa.
Dangote Group confirmed that Ruto will tour the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lekki, Lagos, where he is expected to be received by Dangote.
The visit comes after Ruto met Dangote and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) CEO Samaila Zubairu on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 21.
Their discussions focused on financing arrangements and preparations for the proposed refinery in Lamu, with the Kenyan president subsequently announcing that the project was ready to move into the construction phase.
Ruto is scheduled to join Dangote and other stakeholders for the groundbreaking of the Lamu refinery on September 30.
Lamu refinery targets 700,000 barrels daily
The proposed refinery is estimated to cost about Ksh2.2 trillion and is planned to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The Kenyan government expects the project to strengthen the country’s energy security by increasing domestic refining capacity and reducing dependence on imported petroleum products.
Ruto has also linked the development to broader industrial and economic opportunities, saying it could generate more than 60,000 jobs while increasing local value addition.
The project is also expected to support the development of regional supply chains and contribute to Kenya’s broader industrialisation plans.
Preparations for the Lamu project have advanced with the award of a contract worth more than Ksh58 billion to an Indian state-owned engineering company.
The contract covers project management, consultancy, engineering, procurement and construction management services for the proposed refinery and petrochemical complex.
The Indian engineering company is expected to draw on its experience working with the Dangote Group on major projects in Nigeria as it begins its involvement in the Kenyan development.
