Kenyan President William Ruto has directed efforts to speed up administrative processes for the proposed Dangote refinery in Lamu, as the project prepares for its September 30 groundbreaking.

The planned refinery will have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, making it larger than the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, which has a design capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Ruto made this known during a visit to the Lagos refinery ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kenyan project.

The Kenyan government has already secured land for the refinery and is working to remove bureaucratic hurdles that could delay construction and operations.

The project is expected to serve not only Kenya but other countries across East Africa, with Ruto describing it as a regional industrial development that could boost energy supply, employment and technical skills.

Dangote said the Lamu refinery would be more extensive than the Lagos facility, with additional processing units designed to handle the crude expected at the Kenyan plant.

The project will also include a one-million-tonne-per-year polypropylene plant, which will provide materials for industries producing items such as plastic pipes, furniture and electrical cable coverings.

Dangote also disclosed plans for a 1,000-megawatt power plant at the Lamu complex, which would be larger than the power facility at the Lagos refinery.

He said the company would apply the experience gained from building and operating the Nigerian refinery to the Kenyan project while adapting the facility to Kenya’s energy and industrial requirements.

Ruto described the Lagos refinery as a major engineering achievement and said the visit gave him a clearer understanding of the scale and technical requirements involved in developing a refinery of that size.

He said eight regional presidents had been invited to the Lamu groundbreaking, with five already confirming their attendance.

According to Ruto, the refinery will create opportunities for engineers and other skilled workers while attracting additional businesses and industries to the Lamu area.

The project is part of Kenya’s efforts to strengthen its domestic refining capacity and develop Lamu into a major energy and industrial hub.

When completed, the refinery is expected to supply petroleum products to Kenya and other countries in the region, expanding Dangote’s refining operations beyond Nigeria.

Dangote Group’s Vice President, Devakumar Edwin, said the Lagos refinery was designed to meet Nigeria’s demand for petrol, diesel and aviation fuel while producing surplus volumes for export.

The Kenyan project will build on that model while incorporating additional processing facilities suited to the requirements of the East African market.