Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto has said the country is ready to break ground on the planned East Africa refinery in Lamu as preparations for the major energy project progress.

In a post on X sighted by GhanaWeb Business, President Ruto said he held discussions with Dangote Industries President and CEO Aliko Dangote and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) CEO Samaila Zubairu on financing and final preparations for the project.

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The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He said the refinery would play an important role in strengthening energy security across East Africa while creating jobs and supporting industrialisation.

“We are ready to break ground on the East Africa refinery in Lamu,” he said, describing the project as transformative for the region.

According to President Ruto, the project will also deepen local value addition by creating opportunities to process resources within the region rather than relying heavily on external markets.

He said the refinery would unlock new economic opportunities and strengthen regional supply chains.

President Ruto further said the project could help position East Africa as a competitive energy and industrial hub.

He said his government was focused on moving the project from preparations to implementation and ensuring that it delivers tangible economic benefits to people across the region.

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The proposed refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, while the wider development is projected to create more than 60,000 jobs.

The project, estimated to cost about $17 billion, is expected to form part of Kenya’s broader industrial and logistics development around Lamu and the LAPSSET corridor.

We are ready to break ground on the East Africa refinery in Lamu, a transformative project that will enhance the region’s energy security, deepen local value addition, create jobs and advance our industrialisation agenda.

Held talks with the President and CEO of Dangote… pic.twitter.com/4pMX5WBxez

— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) September 21, 2026