Aliko Dangote is seeking to turn Lamu into a major industrial centre through a Sh2.1 trillion refinery project that he says could bring together fuel production, plastics, base oils, power generation and other businesses.
The Nigerian billionaire said the planned facility would provide the foundation for several industries that could be established around the refinery, giving the project a role beyond processing crude oil for fuel.
The refinery is designed to handle 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily and supply petrol, diesel and jet fuel to Kenya and other markets in East Africa.
“What we are bringing this industry is just the base. By the time we finish in four or five years’ time, when you go to Lamu, you see that it is totally different,” Dangote said in an interview on NTV on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
Dangote said the refinery would provide materials that could support other local industries, particularly manufacturers using products from the petrochemical sector.
Among the products expected from the facility is polypropylene, which he said could help meet the needs of Kenya’s plastics manufacturers.
“We are also supplying the plastic industries. We have polypropylene, which will satisfy and make sure they guarantee the supply of this into our plastic industries,” he said.
Base oil is also part of the proposed product range, adding another industrial material to the refinery’s planned output.
The wider plan could see companies establish operations close to the refinery and use its products and energy supplies as part of their own manufacturing activities.
Refinery could generate 1,000MW
Dangote also sees the Lamu project playing a role in addressing electricity shortages in Africa through power generation.
“One of the things that is actually slowing the growth of Africa is lack of electricity, lack of power,” he said.
The proposed complex could generate about 1,000 megawatts, with 500MW potentially supplied to the Kenyan government.
This would make electricity production one of the major elements of the planned development, alongside crude processing and the supply of industrial materials.
The size of the refinery also raises the issue of securing enough crude to keep it running.
Kenya currently does not have commercial oil production capable of meeting a large portion of the refinery’s 700,000-barrel-a-day requirement. However, the country expects future crude production from South Lokichar, while Uganda is also preparing to enter commercial oil production.
The facility is consequently expected to depend largely on crude from outside Kenya, including possible supplies from other African oil producers and international sources.
Defending the planned capacity, Dangote pointed to expected oil production in the region.
“Kenya will start producing crude very soon. Uganda is going to start very soon,” he said.
The refinery is planned within the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor, making transport and other supporting infrastructure an important part of the project. Some of the infrastructure needed to support the planned operations is still under development.
Court case over refinery land
The project is also being challenged in court over the land selected for the refinery.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court has ordered the parties to maintain the existing status quo on the disputed property until a hearing scheduled for October 14.
The case involves 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County who argue that the land forms part of their ancestral heritage.
Dangote Group has maintained that the court order will not prevent the planned groundbreaking ceremony on September 30, although some activities at the site could be affected.
Despite the legal dispute and questions surrounding crude supplies and infrastructure, Dangote continues to describe Lamu as the beginning of a much larger investment programme.
The billionaire said his ambitions in Africa also extend to much larger power generation projects.
“We are saying 10,000 megas, and somebody said that. But if you have the opportunity, can you do more? Definitely, you can do more,” he said.
Dangote further disclosed that his group plans to invest about Sh6.5 trillion across different industries over the next four years.
“My biggest investment is in Africa,” Dangote said.
The proposed Lamu refinery will therefore depend on several factors before Dangote’s wider industrial vision can take shape, including completion of the facility, availability of crude, development of supporting infrastructure and resolution of the dispute over the project land.
If completed as planned, the refinery would provide the foundation for a wider cluster of energy and manufacturing activities, potentially changing the industrial profile of Lamu beyond fuel production.