Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday broke ground on a $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, a port town on Kenya's northern coast. Once complete, the plant is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day, matching Dangote's refinery at Lekki in Nigeria and making it East Africa's largest industrial project by capacity. Completion is scheduled for 2030. The leaders of Ethiopia, Uganda, Togo and Benin attended, and Rwanda sent its trade minister.
Dangote called the launch "a new chapter in Africa's industrial journey", saying Lekki had proved such a project could be done and Lamu must prove it can be repeated. Ruto described it as a sign that Africa will increasingly finance, build and process its resources at home. He said it would lift the Kenyan economy by 12 per cent, bring about $4 billion a year in foreign investment during construction and create 60,000 jobs. The complex will also include a 1,000-megawatt power plant, with half the output going to Kenya's grid, as well as plastics, fertiliser and chemicals production. Dangote has offered regional governments a combined 30 per cent stake, and shares are due to be listed on the Nairobi bourse.
The project faces resistance. Some residents protested to demand more compensation for land, and 133 locals have asked Kenya's High Court to halt work. A ruling published on Monday allowed the ceremony to go ahead, but the case continues, with excavation and construction on the disputed land restricted until a hearing on 14 October. Greenpeace and other groups have raised environmental concerns; Lamu is known for its Swahili old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The campaign group Save Lamu has asked for the environmental impact assessment findings. Dangote dismissed the protests and said the company took only the land it needed, while Ruto pledged that concerns would be handled "lawfully and fairly".
Critics also question building a refinery in a country that produces no oil. Uganda is about to start production and has nearly finished a pipeline to Tanzania's coast, and Uganda and Tanzania have announced a rival $20 billion refinery at Tanga, though details are sparse. Kenya's energy minister said refineries buy crude on an open market, and Dangote cited Singapore as an example. Initially, crude will arrive by ship from the Middle East, the United States and elsewhere.
The broader argument is economic. Ruto said Africa produced 6.8 million barrels of crude a day in 2024 but consumed 4.5 million of refined products, leaving much of the profit to foreign refiners. Analysts quoted by RFI say self-sufficiency in fuel by 2030, as Dangote has promised, would require refining capacity above four million barrels a day, and that logistics, storage and competitive pricing remain obstacles. Kenyan pump prices may eventually benefit, but global crude prices will still weigh heavily.