William Ruto, the president of Kenya, has set the groundbreaking ceremony date of the proposed Dangote refinery in Kenya, signalling Nairobi’s ambition to position itself as East Africa’s refining and petroleum trading hub while reshaping fuel supply dynamics across the region.
Speaking during the signing of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026, into law at State House in Nairobi, Ruto said preparations for the project had entered an advanced stage and directed his deputy, Kithure Kindiki, to chair a joint government-private sector committee to coordinate investments linked to the refinery.
“We have set a date for the groundbreaking ceremony. We are taking steps to take Kenya to be a first-world nation,” Ruto said.
The refinery, which will be located in Lamu County, is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the largest refining facility in East Africa and the biggest downstream investment by outside Nigeria.
Its scale would exceed the combined refining capacity of existing facilities in East Africa and could fundamentally alter the region’s dependence on imported petroleum products from the Middle East, India, and Europe.
