NAIROBI, Kenya – Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has expressed a strong interest in replicating his massive 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery model in Kenya to serve the East African market.
Okay News reports that in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday, the Nigerian industrialist revealed he is leaning toward Mombasa as the ideal site for the project. Dangote cited Mombasa’s deep-water port and Kenya’s position as the region’s largest economy and consumer of petroleum products as the primary reasons for his preference over Tanzania’s Tanga port.
The proposed refinery, estimated to cost between $15 billion and $17 billion, aims to end East Africa’s total reliance on refined petroleum imports from the Middle East. This strategic move follows recent supply disruptions and price volatility linked to ongoing regional conflicts in the Middle East.
“The ball is in the hands of President Ruto,” Dangote stated, signaling that the project’s commencement depends on the support and approval of the Kenyan government. This comes just weeks after President William Ruto indicated that East African nations were discussing a joint refinery project modeled after the successful Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.
If the deal moves forward, it would represent one of the largest private sector investments in East African history, potentially transforming Kenya into a regional hub for energy self-sufficiency and economic resilience.
