Kenya’s President William Ruto said Friday that plans to build what is expected to become East Africa’s largest oil refinery in Lamu will move forward after talks with Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote.
Speaking at the launch of the second phase of the government’s Nyota youth empowerment programme, Ruto said the project would create around 60,000 jobs for young Kenyans and strengthen the country’s position as a regional energy hub.
“Kenya will now build the East African refinery here in Lamu, where we will need 60,000 young people to work,” Ruto said.
He said he had spoken with Dangote and reached an agreement for the refinery to serve not only Kenya, but also Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“I spoke with investor Aliko Dangote, and we agreed that the refinery will not only serve Kenya, but also Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while creating employment opportunities for our youth,” Ruto added.
The refinery is planned for Lamu County, about 470 kilometres southeast of Nairobi, along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast. Officials say the site was chosen because of its deep-water port, strategic location and access to transport corridors linking Kenya to landlocked markets in East and Central Africa.
The project is expected to have a capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day, making it the largest refinery in East Africa if completed as planned.
Ruto said the refinery would help reduce the region’s reliance on imported refined fuel and support industrial growth around the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor, known as LAPSSET.
The announcement follows Dangote Industries’ decision to pursue the project in Kenya, ending months of speculation over whether the refinery would be built in Kenya or Tanzania.
The company has said construction is expected to take about 30 months once work begins.