Lamu buzzes as Kenya's biggest oil refinery breaks ground

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**The Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Mokowe, Lamu County.** [PCS]

Kenya on Wednesday, September 30 broke ground on a Sh2.2 trillion oil refinery in Lamu, a project expected to reshape the country's petroleum sector and make it a regional fuel-processing hub.

President William Ruto is presiding over the ceremony, joined by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of the Dangote Group, which is leading the project.

**President William Ruto and his Deputy Kithure Kindiki during the Official groundbreaking of The Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Mokowe, Lamu County.** [PCS]

The ceremony has brought together Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, ambassadors, governors led by Lamu County Governor Issa Timamy and other senior government officials, as well as regional leaders and other dignitaries.

Among those present are Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.

Regional leaders, including Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Togo President Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové and Benin’s president Romuald Wadagni are also in attendance.

**Official groundbreaking of The Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Mokowe, Lamu County.** [PCS]

Kenyan, East African and local flags decorated the venue, where heavy machinery stood ready.

Residents arrived early in large numbers, and many welcomed the project, citing the jobs and business opportunities they expect it to bring to Lamu and the wider region.

Police have been deployed to provide security.

Ahead of the ceremony, President Ruto, Deputy President Kindiki, Dangote and the other regional leaders were taken through the project design and plans for the refinery.

The programme then got underway with the East African anthem, followed by prayers from representatives of different faiths.

The official groundbreaking followed, with Ruto, Dangote and regional dignitaries donning blue reflector jackets and construction helmets before using blue shovels to pick sand, symbolising the beginning of construction of the mega refinery.

The event is being marked by the Kenyan and East African anthems ahead of the opening speeches and other proceedings.

A vessel carrying about 2,930 tonnes of construction equipment, the first batch for the project, has already docked at Lamu Port.

The Dangote East Africa Refinery is a $16 billion facility, about Sh2.2 trillion, planned near Lamu Port on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor.

Modelled on Dangote's refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, it is due for completion around 2030. It is expected to be the largest refinery in East Africa and one of the largest on the continent, processing 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day for Kenya and neighbouring markets.

It is also expected to support industries such as petrochemicals, fertiliser, chemicals and packaging.

Ruto linked the investment to energy security, industrialisation and job creation, saying the refinery will create about 60,000 jobs.

Dangote said the project could employ more than 60,000 people at its peak and generate demand for food, accommodation, transport and retail services. The government says the refinery will reduce East Africa's reliance on imported fuel and cut the foreign currency spent on it.

The groundbreaking proceeds despite a legal dispute over part of the land earmarked for the project. A court has issued orders on the disputed land, but Dangote and the government went ahead with the ceremony.