NAIROBI, Sept 22 – Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person is bringing the engineering team behind his flagship Lagos refinery into a new $17 billion refinery and petrochemical project in Kenya, with construction of the planned facility expected to begin this month.
Engineers India Ltd. (EIL), a company majority-owned by the Indian government, has secured a $450 million contract from Dangote Group to provide project management and engineering services for the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu.
The contract, announced in a filing with the Mumbai stock exchange, makes EIL the project’s Project Management Consultant and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management consultant.
Its mandate covers project planning, engineering, procurement and construction management, as well as coordination of contractors and oversight of costs, schedules, quality and safety throughout the development.
The $450 million agreement relates to consultancy, engineering and project management services and does not represent the total construction cost of the refinery. The wider project has previously been estimated at approximately $17 billion.
Engineers India expands Dangote relationship
EIL’s appointment in Kenya builds on its involvement in Dangote’s major industrial projects in Nigeria.
The Indian engineering company previously served as the Project Management Consultant and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management consultant for Dangote’s 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical complex in Lekki, which has since been commissioned.
It is also involved in the planned expansion of the Nigerian refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day under a separate engineering and project management mandate. EIL has additionally worked on other Dangote projects, including a four-train fertiliser plant.
Dangote highlighted the existing relationship in its statement accompanying the contract.
“Believing in EIL’s Engineering and Project Management excellence, the Dangote Group has once again joined hands with EIL… for this prestigious Kenya Project.”
The Kenyan contract represents EIL’s formal entry into the Lamu refinery project rather than an assignment it had previously been undertaking in Kenya.
Lamu project targets East African fuel supply
The proposed refinery is planned for Lamu on Kenya’s coast and will have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
EIL said the facility could strengthen fuel production across East Africa, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and contribute to regional energy security while also supplying products to international markets.
“Once completed, this project will be critical in strengthening fuel production within East Africa, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting regional energy security, and further playing a critical role by supplying the petroleum products to the global market,” the company said in its exchange filing.
The project is also linked to broader plans for infrastructure connecting Kenya’s oil-producing region in Turkana with the coast. The proposed supply network would support the movement of crude to Lamu for processing and distribution across Kenya and other East African markets.
For Dangote, the Kenya project extends an industrial strategy that has already established one of Africa’s largest refining complexes in Nigeria. For EIL, the contract expands its role in Dangote’s growing portfolio of large-scale energy and industrial developments.
