Dangote Says Kenya Refinery Will Serve Entire East Africa, Groundbreaking Set for October
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has confirmed that plans for a massive 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Kenya have reached an advanced stage, with groundbreaking expected by October this year.
Speaking during an interview with the BBC, Dangote said construction of the facility, which will be known as the East African Refinery, will begin immediately after the groundbreaking and is projected to take less than four years to complete.
The refinery, which was initially estimated to cost about $17 billion, has now been revised downwards to between $15.5 billion and $16 billion, thanks to reduced financing costs and experience gained from building the giant Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.
“The plans have actually gone very far with Kenya, because what we are trying to do really is to try and make sure that in most African countries, we make them self-sufficient in their own energy needs, fertiliser and coal. We’ve gone very far, and I think by the latest, by October, we’ll be doing ground-breaking,” Dangote said.
He added: “Once we break ground, we’ll start the construction very soon. We’re really planning something very big within the African continent.”
Dangote clarified that the refinery will not serve Kenya alone but is strategically positioned to supply petroleum products to the wider East African region and beyond, potentially reaching markets as far as Egypt.
“That’s why we’re calling it East African Refinery, you know, so that it can serve a lot of countries up to even Egypt,” he said.
The project is expected to be financed through a mix of 30 percent equity and 70 percent debt, and Dangote expressed confidence that raising the funds will not be a challenge.
“This one will be faster, so in terms of financing costs, it will be less,” he noted, attributing efficiency to lessons learned from the Lagos refinery.
The investment comes at a time when African countries continue to struggle with high costs and supply uncertainties associated with importing refined petroleum products, despite sitting on significant crude oil reserves.
According to Dangote, the refinery will have a massive impact on energy security in the region by guaranteeing countries access to locally refined products.
“It’s going to have a massive impact, really, and also it guarantees the countries getting their own products,” he said.
Beyond energy, Dangote used the interview to call on African governments to take greater responsibility for driving economic development and to stop waiting for external players to develop the continent.
“We Africans, we must make sure that we lead the prospects that you have, the opportunities that you have. Nobody, and I repeat, nobody will come and drive it for us,” he said.
He also emphasized the need for stronger implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost intra-African trade, increase production and create jobs for Africa’s youthful population.
“You have one quarter of the world’s population, and you are not producing anything. If you are not productive, how do you create prosperity?” he posed.
If completed as planned, the Kenya-based East African Refinery will be the second largest refinery on the continent after the Lagos facility and is expected to significantly reduce the region’s dependence on imported fuel.
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