Kenyan President William Ruto has toured the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for a proposed refinery project in Lamu, Kenya.
Ruto, who visited the $20 billion facility at the invitation of President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, described the refinery as a symbol of what African governments, investors and financial institutions can achieve through strategic collaboration.
Speaking during the visit, the Kenyan leader disclosed that construction of the planned Dangote East African Refinery in Lamu is scheduled to commence next week and projected that the facility would surpass the Nigerian refinery in size and capacity.
According to him, the project is expected to transform Kenya’s petroleum sector, improve energy security and ensure more reliable fuel supplies across East Africa.
Ruto said the refinery would also serve as a catalyst for industrialisation, creating an estimated 60,000 jobs while supporting the growth of allied industries such as fertiliser production, chemical manufacturing and packaging.
Highlighting the scale of the Dangote Refinery, the Kenyan president noted that the Lagos-based facility processes about 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily and produces more than 100 million litres of refined petroleum products, including petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
He further commended the infrastructure supporting the project, noting that Dangote Group constructed about 120 kilometres of subsea pipelines to transport crude oil from offshore vessels to the refinery.
“This huge achievement is a testament to what African governments, investors and financial institutions can do together,” Ruto wrote on his X account following the visit.
The visit comes as African countries increasingly seek to expand domestic refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
