Nigerian billionaire and industrialist Aliko Dangote/HANDOUT
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has revealed that he had never heard of Lamu until January 2026, months before selecting the coastal county as the site of his planned Sh2 trillion refinery.
Dangote said Lamu was not initially among the locations being considered for the project, with Mombasa in Kenya and Tanga in Tanzania first featuring in discussions.
Speaking about the proposed Dangote East African Refinery, he said his team visited Lamu and brought the location to his attention.
“By January this year, I had never heard of this name Lamu. I only knew of Lamu when my people came back and said, ‘but there is a place called Lamu,’” Dangote said.
He said the choice later came down to the conditions offered by Lamu, including the availability of land, water and sufficient sea depth for ships carrying crude.
“When you go to Lamu, you will see that it is totally different. It will have more activities than any industrial centre in Kenya,” he said.
Dangote said Tanga had also been considered because of the pipeline carrying Uganda’s crude, while Mombasa was another option.
He, however, said a refinery did not necessarily have to be located where crude oil is produced.
Dangote cited Singapore and India as examples of countries with large refining capacities despite producing little or no crude oil.
He said the planned Lamu refinery would initially prioritise crude from East African countries producing oil before sourcing supplies from the Middle East and other oil-producing countries.
“Kenya will start producing crude very soon. Uganda is going to start very soon, and other neighbouring countries too in East Africa will start producing their own crude,” he said.
The refinery is expected to produce jet fuel, diesel and petrol, while also supplying raw materials to the plastics industry and other manufacturers in the region.
“We are not only supplying jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline, which is PMS that you use in your car. We are also supplying the plastic industries,” Dangote said.
He gave a 40-month timeline for completion of the Sh2 trillion East African Refinery.
“Lekki refinery in Nigeria proved that it is capable, so Lamu must prove that it can be repeated. Mr President, and our other respected presidents, my brother, Prime Minister Abiy, I want to assure you will come back here and commission this refinery in 40 months from today,” Dangote said.
