African leaders herald $16B Dangote oil refinery in Kenya
2 hours ago
African leaders on Wednesday broke ground on a new $16 billion (€14 billion) oil refinery off Kenya's coast.
The project is expected to be completed in 40 months, and will process an estimated 700,000 barrels of oil per day. The refinery will be constructed at the coastal town of Lamu.
Kenya's President William Ruto, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed were among the leaders who attended an event to celebrate the project, the largest of its kind in East and Central Africa.
The refinery "will strengthen regional energy security, reduce reliance on imports and bolster our foreign exchange," Ruto said on social media.
"But this is more than a refinery. It is an integrated industrial complex featuring a 1,000MW power plant, plastic factory and the manufacturing of fertilizers and chemicals."
Africa's richest man, Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote , will oversee the project.
Dangote said the refinery will make East Africa more "self-sufficient" by reducing imports of refined fuel.
"For too long, our continent has actually been rich in resources but poor in value creation and addition. We have exported crude oil and imported refined products," Dangote said in his speech.
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