Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has appointed Indian engineering consultancy Engineers India Limited (EIL) to oversee the construction of his proposed $16 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Kenya.
EIL, a state-controlled Indian engineering company, has entered into a $450 million contract with Dangote for the development of the 700,000 barrels-per-day greenfield refinery and petrochemical project in Lamu, a coastal town in Kenya.
The company was previously involved in the development of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos and is currently providing services for the expansion of the facility.
EIL disclosed the Kenyan contract in a filing with the Mumbai stock exchange, according to the Times of India.
“Once completed, this project will be critical in strengthening fuel production within East Africa, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting regional energy security,” the company said.
Dangote had earlier announced that construction of the Kenyan refinery was expected to begin before the end of September.
With a planned processing capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, the facility is expected to rank among Africa’s largest proposed refining projects.
The development is also expected to incorporate pipeline infrastructure linking Lamu with Ethiopia, alongside a proposed connection between Djibouti and Ethiopia.
The planned pipelines are part of Dangote’s wider ambition to establish an estimated 4,000-kilometre energy infrastructure network linking landlocked countries in the region.
The Kenyan investment represents an expansion of Dangote’s refining interests beyond West Africa. The group’s flagship 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos currently anchors its downstream energy operations.
Dangote has said the Lagos refinery’s capacity could be increased to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
The proposed Kenyan facility would give the conglomerate a refining presence on Africa’s Indian Ocean coast, complementing its existing operations on the Atlantic coast.
Beyond refining, Dangote has set a target of generating $100 billion in annual revenue for the Dangote Group by 2030. The businessman has also outlined plans to invest up to $50 billion over the next four years in expanding the group’s operations across Africa.
Dangote’s net worth was estimated at $35.5 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
