The construction of the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day East Africa Refinery in Lamu, Kenya, is set to begin in November 2026, following a groundbreaking ceremony in October to be led by Dangote Group President and CEO Aliko Dangote alongside East African Community leaders.

The refinery's estimated cost has also fallen from $17 billion to $16 billion after geotechnical investigations and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies found no pressing technical challenges at the proposed site.

Dangote Group will remain both the consultant and contractor for the project, giving the Nigerian conglomerate a central role in taking the refinery from design into construction.

The development represents a major acceleration of East Africa's ambitions to build regional refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.

Despite the Lamu project, Uganda and Tanzania remain fully committed to the proposed $20 billion refinery project in Tanga, Tanzania, meaning the region is simultaneously advancing two major refining investments on the Indian Ocean coast.

The Lamu refinery, once completed, would have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, positioning it among the largest refining projects in Africa and potentially transforming Kenya's role in the region's petroleum supply chain.

For Uganda, the simultaneous pursuit of the two projects is particularly significant as the country develops its own oil resources and advances the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to Tanzania.

The October groundbreaking therefore marks more than the start of another infrastructure project: it signals a new phase in East Africa's race to build the petroleum infrastructure needed to support its emerging oil economy.