Kenyan President Ruto Calls Dangote Refinery an Engineering Masterpiece — Premium Times Nigeria

Kenyan President William Ruto, during a visit to the Dangote refinery near Lagos, Nigeria, called the facility a masterpiece of science, engineering and art. As Premium Times Nigeria reports, Ruto said that he knew about Nigerians’ entrepreneurial spirit but did not expect to see a project of such scale.

The Kenyan president arrived at the facility together with his wife, Rachel Ruto. He also said that the Kenyan government fully supports this goal of Dangote Group.

Dangote Group’s plans in Kenya

Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Industries Limited, said that under its Vision 2030 strategy, the group plans to invest nearly $50 billion in Africa’s industrialization. According to him, the company intends to build a power plant in Lamu with a capacity of about 1,000 megawatts and sell 500 megawatts of electricity to the Kenyan government.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery expects to begin construction of an oil refinery in the coastal city of Lamu on September 30. The facility’s planned capacity will be 700,000 barrels per day. The company expects the plant to serve as its entry into the East African market and contribute to the region’s energy security.

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Cost and financing

Construction of the refinery in Lamu, according to estimates cited in the publication, may take three years and cost between $15 billion and $16 billion. The facility is to process oil for Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to the outlet, a combination of the company’s internal funds, an initial public offering and bonds is being considered to finance the project. In August, Kenyan President’s economic adviser David Ndii said that Dangote Group had offered East African countries a 30% stake in the future refinery. Kenya, he said, could obtain a 10% stake for $500 million, while Ethiopia and Rwanda expressed readiness to join.

Consulting company Engineers India Limited, which is subordinate to India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is to act as a consultant for project management, engineering, procurement and construction management. The contract for the Kenyan project is valued at $450 million.