NAIROBI, Kenya, July 11 – Tanzania’s richest businessman, Mohammed Dewji, has pledged to invest $100 million (Sh12.9 billion) in Aliko Dangote’s oil refinery in Lamu.
Dewji’s announcement comes after Dangote Group early this week picked Kenya’s Lamu County for the proposed Sh2.2 trillion oil refinery.
The planned refinery will have the capacity to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it East Africa’s largest refinery and the continent’s second largest after the Lagos facility.
A site has already been identified on Lamu Island, where preliminary engineering studies, design work and geotechnical investigations are underway ahead of construction.
People familiar with the project have said financing will come from a combination of internally generated funds, corporate bond issuances and proceeds from a planned initial public offering, with construction expected to take about five years.
The proposed Lamu refinery, which is expected to be completed within five years, is expected to serve Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
