Aliko Dangote has offered East African governments a combined 30% stake in a planned $16 billion oil refinery in Kenya, opening the door for regional countries to become shareholders in a project designed to supply petroleum products closer to their markets.
The offer was highlighted as construction of the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery formally began at the port of Lamu on Wednesday.
Rwanda was represented at the groundbreaking by Trade and Industry Minister Antoine-Marie Kajangwe, who attended on behalf of President Paul Kagame. The ceremony also brought together Kenyan President William Ruto, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Togo’s President Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové.
The refinery is planned to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day and is expected to be completed in 2030. Alongside the refinery, Dangote plans to develop a special economic zone for industries that use petroleum products as raw materials.
Rwanda has already expressed interest in participating in the project. Kagame said in August that Kigali had held preliminary discussions with Dangote over taking a stake.
The project is being developed as East African countries continue to rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products. Dangote said the refinery would help address that dependence by increasing processing capacity within the region.
“If you look at East Africa, and not only East Africa, most of the 54 countries in Africa import petroleum products,” Dangote told journalists in Nairobi.
The refinery is expected to produce fuel for Kenya and other regional markets and support the manufacture of petroleum-based products, including bitumen used in road construction.
The Rwandan Ministry of Trade and Industry said Kigali expected the project to contribute to efforts to add value to Africa’s natural resources.
“Rwanda looks forward to the commencement of this landmark project and to its contribution to unlocking the value of Africa’s natural resources,” the ministry said in a post on X.
Engineers India Limited has been awarded a $450 million contract for engineering work on the project.
Dangote is seeking to build the Kenyan refinery with a processing capacity comparable to the refinery operated by his group in Nigeria. The Kenyan development is expected to create more than 50,000 jobs and add new petroleum-related industries around Lamu.
