President William Ruto has said Kenya will combine state assets, public investment and private capital to finance its participation in the Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery planned for Lamu.
Ruto said the government would use the National Infrastructure Fund alongside public assets such as land to secure a stake in the refinery, while the private sector provides much of the capital, technical expertise and management needed to develop the project.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony in Mokowe, Lamu County, on Wednesday, September 30, Ruto said the approach marked a move away from depending mainly on taxes and public borrowing to finance major infrastructure and industrial projects.
The refinery is estimated to cost about $16 billion (Sh2.2 trillion) and is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The facility is planned to supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and other East African markets, with media reports indicating that construction is expected to be completed in 2030.
“This is a government-enabled, private sector-driven project. Government provides the policy certainty, coordination, infrastructure, and regulation, the conditions that make investment possible. Private enterprises mobilize capital, the technical expertise, and carry the commercial obligation of management.”
Ruto said the size of the refinery showed the need for Kenya to rethink how it raises money for large projects, arguing that public resources alone could not meet the country’s growing infrastructure needs.
“We cannot build 21st-century infrastructure using yesterday’s financing model. Government cannot finance every road, railway, port, energy project, and industrial undertaking from taxes on public debt alone.”
President William Ruto(R) with Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote during the breaking ground of the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery at Mokowe, Lamu County on September 30, 2026. PHOTO/PCS
The President pointed to the National Infrastructure Fund as a key part of the new financing approach.
Government documents describe the fund as a state-owned investment vehicle created to finance major development projects and mobilise more than $43 billion over 10 years for energy, roads and other critical infrastructure.
Its leadership has also said the fund is intended to attract private investment, with a target of mobilising up to Sh10 for every shilling invested through the fund.
The Dangote refinery is among the projects identified for possible equity participation by the fund.
“That is why we established the National Infrastructure Fund to mobilize our assets, savings, and capital markets, and to crowd in long-term investment, both locally and globally.”
Ruto said the government would increasingly judge the impact of public investment by how much additional private money it can bring into major projects.
“Our task is no longer to simply ask how much government can spend. Our measure is how much investment every shilling of government or public capital can mobilize from the private sector, pension funds, insurance companies, and other long-term assets, both within and from foreign sources.”
The President also confirmed that the Kenyan government would own a stake in the refinery, ending uncertainty over whether the state would have a direct ownership position in the project.
“And just for the record, as our brother AliKo Dangote has said, the government of Kenya is going to have a stake in the refinery, and we are going to deploy our assets.”
President William Ruto(L) and Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote having a slight chat during the launch of the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery, Mokowe, Lamu County on September 30, 2026. PHOTO/PCS
President Ruto said Kenya would contribute land and other assets towards the investment while also putting money into the project through the National Infrastructure Fund.
“We do not want anything for free. We are going to deploy whether it is land and all the other assets, and we are going to use the National Infrastructure Fund to invest in this refinery.”
The proposed ownership arrangement has been discussed for several months. Earlier reports indicated that Kenya could acquire a 10 per cent stake, estimated at about $1.6 billion based on the projected $16 billion cost of the refinery.
However, the final ownership structure has not been fully settled, while regional governments have been offered a combined 30 per cent stake.
The financing plan comes as the refinery’s large capital needs remain a major part of discussions around the project, alongside questions on crude oil supply and the infrastructure required to support operations.
Analysts have also raised concerns about whether the refinery will be able to secure enough crude and financing to operate at its planned capacity.
Despite the concerns, Ruto presented the investment as an opportunity to increase the role of private investors and long-term institutional funds in Kenya’s industrial development.
He further encouraged Kenyans to participate through the country’s capital markets, saying the refinery could create an opportunity for wider public ownership.
The President cited the growth in assets listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, saying their value had risen from Sh2 trillion three years ago to Sh4.2 trillion.
Under the proposed model, the government will therefore combine its assets and public capital with private investment, with the National Infrastructure Fund expected to provide the main vehicle for Kenya’s participation in the refinery.
The private sector, meanwhile, is expected to bring in much of the commercial funding, technical skills and management needed to develop and operate the facility.