President William Ruto has detailed how Lamu emerged as the preferred site for the proposed refinery, saying technical studies eventually found the coastal town better suited to handle crude oil and support a wider industrial complex.
Speaking on Thursday at State House, Mombasa, Ruto said the government had initially considered several possible locations for a regional refinery, including Tanga in Tanzania, as Kenya and Uganda explored options linked to the planned movement of Ugandan crude to the coast.
He said the location debate was closely tied to earlier plans for a crude oil pipeline from Uganda to Kenya’s coast.
Uganda had at the time been considering a route through Kenya to Mombasa for crude produced from its oil fields in Hoima. However, disagreements between the two countries eventually saw the pipeline route shifted through Tanzania to Tanga.
Ruto said that change prompted officials to also consider Tanga as a possible site for a regional refinery.
“We thought perhaps it could be built in Tanga because that is where the crude oil from Uganda was expected to go,” he said.
The President said further assessments were then carried out by experts, investors and government officials before Lamu was eventually settled on.
“Further research was done, involving the investors themselves and our officers, and eventually it was agreed that it should be built in Lamu,” he said.
According to Ruto, one of the main factors that worked in Lamu’s favour was the depth of its waters, which he said would allow the facility to receive large vessels used to transport crude oil.
He said the choice was not based only on the refinery but also on Lamu’s potential to support petroleum-related businesses and wider industrial growth.
Ruto said the project could open up opportunities in electricity generation, trade and investment while creating space for industries that depend on petroleum products.
Among the businesses he identified were plastic manufacturing and petrochemical industries, which could use products from the refinery as raw materials.
The President said discussions on establishing the refinery had been going on for years as the government sought to develop a facility capable of serving Kenya and the wider East African market.
He recalled meeting Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote during an Africa Finance Corporation-related meeting in Nairobi, where he said Dangote was encouraged to consider investing in the project.
Ruto said Dangote later travelled to Kenya, allowing discussions on the proposed refinery and other possible investments to continue.
The President said the refinery was subsequently advanced as part of a broader plan to develop Lamu into an industrial and logistics centre.
He said the location offered the maritime conditions and infrastructure needed for a large petroleum project while also providing space for other industries to grow around the facility.
The planned refinery is expected to form part of a larger industrial complex involving petrochemicals, plastics and other businesses that rely on petroleum products in their production.
Ruto said the decision to locate the project in Lamu was therefore reached after technical assessments of the site and its potential to support industries beyond crude oil processing.
He said the project could help expand investment, trade and industrial activity while strengthening Lamu’s role in Kenya’s economic development.