President William Ruto speaks during an event at Dangote refinery in Lagos on September 25, 2026/PCSPresident William Ruto has assured the Dangote family of the Kenyan government’s full support for the planned refinery project in Lamu, indicating that the necessary land has already been secured for the development.
Speaking in Lagos, Nigeria, Ruto said Kenya was committed to creating the necessary conditions to ensure the project progresses without being slowed down by administrative processes.
“I just want to tell the Dangote family here, the government of Kenya is 100 per cent behind your project, our project,” Ruto said.
“We have already secured the land necessary for this and are working on all other enablers to make sure we don't spend time on doing administrative and bureaucratic stuff."
Ruto said the government wanted its efforts to focus on advancing the project and putting in place the conditions required for refining operations to begin in Lamu.
This, he said, would help clear bottlenecks as Kenya works towards commencing refining operations.
The President described the proposed refinery as more than an energy project, saying Kenya was looking at its potential to contribute to the country's wider industrial development.
“We are not looking at this as just a refinery but one that is going to elevate our industrial scale,” Ruto said.
He said the project would also create opportunities for Kenyans in engineering, business and other areas while contributing to the development of human capital.
Ruto added that the government viewed the project positively and expressed confidence in its potential contribution to Kenya's economy.
“We are also looking at the opportunities that will come from this, especially in the space of improving our human capital in engineering, business aspects, jobs and opportunities,” he said.
“I think we are up to a very good project."
The proposed refinery is part of wider plans involving the Dangote Group and Kenya's energy sector, with the project expected to position Lamu as a potential centre for petroleum processing and related industrial activities.
Ruto's remarks came as he sought to underline the government's commitment to removing administrative obstacles that could delay the project.
The remarks came amid President Ruto’s tour on Friday of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s mega oil refinery in Lekki, Lagos, ahead of next week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Dangote East African Refinery in Lamu.
Ruto, accompanied by First Lady Rachel Ruto and senior government officials, said he visited the facility at the invitation of Dangote Group President and CEO Aliko Dangote.
The refinery has a crude oil refining capacity of 700,000 barrels per day and produces more than 100 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel daily, according to Ruto.
He said the refinery, whose construction is set to be launched in Kenya next week, “will be bigger”.
