Dangote breaks ground on $16bn East African oil refinery in Kenya

Construction of a $16 billion oil refinery has begun in Kenya. The refinery, being built by Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, is expected to be completed in 2030 and will have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The refinery is located on the island of Lamu and will serve East Africa, a region that has historically relied on fuel imports from the Middle East. According to Semafor, Kenya's President William Ruto, along with the presidents of Ethiopia and Uganda, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

The project was chosen from several locations, including Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and Zanzibar, with Lamu's strategic location and commercial viability cited as factors behind the decision, as per Capital Business. The refinery's location on the Indian Ocean will facilitate the importation of crude oil.

Brief written by urgent.news from BusinessDay Nigeria, Semafor, Capital Business — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.