NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 4 – Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has confirmed that construction of the planned Lamu oil refinery will be launched on September 30, 2026.
Dangote made the announcement during a visit to Southern Africa, according to Reuters.
“We are launching it on September 30,” Dangote was quoted as saying.
Dangote announced plans in April to expand his refining business into East Africa, with the Lamu facility expected to be modelled on his refinery in Nigeria.
The refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the largest refinery in East Africa and the second-largest on the continent after Dangote’s refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.
Once completed, the facility is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring markets, including Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The refinery is expected to reduce the region’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
According to Dangote, construction of the Lamu refinery will be financed through a combination of debt and shareholders’ funds.
About 70 per cent of the project, equivalent to approximately Sh1.45 trillion, will be financed through debt based on the revised total project cost of Sh2 trillion.
The project cost was recently revised downwards from an earlier estimate of Sh2.2 trillion.
The remaining 30 per cent, or about Sh621 billion, will be financed by shareholders, including Dangote.
