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Kenyan President, William Ruto, has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos as a “masterpiece of science, engineering and art” as he expressed Kenya’s commitment to partnering with Dangote Group on a proposed $17 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu.
Ruto made the remarks at the weekend during a tour of the 700,000 barrels-per-day Dangote refinery, petrochemicals and fertiliser complex in Lekki, Lagos, after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Kenyan President said seeing the facility first-hand had strengthened his confidence in the proposed Lamu project, which is expected to become a major regional energy and industrial hub.
“Coming here and seeing it for myself, I can confirm that I have seen a masterpiece of science, engineering, with art. To my brother Aliko, congratulations. I always knew Nigerians to be very brave people and go-getters, but I did not anticipate that it was at this scale,” Ruto said.
He disclosed that preparations had been concluded for the groundbreaking of the Lamu refinery project, stressing that the Kenyan government had secured the required land and was working to remove administrative bottlenecks.
According to him, the project would help drive industrialisation, create jobs, build engineering and technical capacity, improve energy security and deepen regional economic integration.
“This is not a Kenyan refinery; it is going to be a regional refinery. We are positioning our continent as an emerging growth centre, and this project will help accelerate industrialisation, create jobs, enhance engineering capabilities and strengthen Africa’s economic competitiveness,” he said.
Ruto said the Kenyan government was fully committed to the project and would work to ensure that implementation was not delayed by bureaucracy.
“The Government of Kenya is 100 per cent behind this project. We have secured the required land and are working to ensure that we spend our time building rather than navigating administrative delays,” he added.
The President also praised Dangote Group President and Chief Executive, Aliko Dangote, for his understanding of the technical and operational details of the Lagos refinery.
“The detail with which Aliko Dangote understands this plant is remarkable. Unless you understand the details, you are unable to make the right decisions. That commitment to excellence is one of the reasons behind the success of this project,” Ruto said.
Meanwhile, Dangote Group’s Chief Strategy Officer, Aliyu Suleiman, said the conglomerate generated about $17 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 and was targeting $36 billion for the full year.
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He said the projected full-year revenue would represent a significant increase from the $18 billion recorded in 2025.
“The revenues of the Group have grown significantly over the last five years. From $18 billion last year, we are on track to get to $36 billion this year. Our half-year revenue is already about $17 billion,” Suleiman said.
He attributed the growth to investments in cement, sugar, fertiliser, petroleum refining, upstream oil and gas and other businesses.
Suleiman said the group’s expansion was being driven by its Vision 2030 strategy, under which it plans to deepen its industrial footprint across Africa.
He disclosed that the group invested about $50 billion in capital expenditure between 2020 and 2025 and planned to invest twice that amount over the next five years.
The proposed Lamu refinery and petrochemical complex, with a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, is expected to form part of Dangote Group’s ambition to build a $100 billion African industrial enterprise.
Suleiman said Dangote Group had already signed a contract worth more than $450 million with Engineers India Limited for project management consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction management services for the Lamu project.
He said the partnership was building on Engineers India Limited’s experience in the development of the Dangote refinery in Lagos.
Meanwhile, Dangote Group is also planning to expand the capacity of its Nigerian refinery from 700,000 barrels per day to about 1.4 million barrels per day through the addition of a new 750,000 barrels-per-day crude distillation unit.
The expansion is expected to increase Nigeria’s refined petroleum product output and strengthen the country’s position in the regional and international refined-products market.
Suleiman said the group’s wider expansion plans cover port infrastructure, gas, liquefied natural gas, upstream oil and gas, power generation, mining and other strategic industrial projects across Africa.
