Construction preparations for the Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu have picked up pace after a second consignment of heavy machinery docked at the Port of Lamu, three weeks after President William Ruto and Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote broke ground on the project.

The vessel arrived on Monday, 19 October, carrying 154 assorted pieces of heavy equipment destined for the refinery site at Mokowe, according to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority, which announced the arrival. The Eastleigh Voice and Kenya Engineer both reported the delivery on Tuesday.

The latest batch follows a first consignment that landed at Lamu in late September, shortly before the groundbreaking ceremony. That shipment carried about 2,930 metric tonnes of construction machinery and materials, according to the reports.

From groundbreaking to mobilisation

The refinery, estimated by Kenyan outlets at about Sh2.2 trillion, was officially launched at Mokowe on 30 September in a ceremony led by President Ruto and attended by Dangote Group president Aliko Dangote alongside other regional leaders. The steady arrival of equipment is the first visible sign that the project is moving from ceremony to physical work on the ground.

The plant is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day, producing petrol, diesel and aviation fuel. Plans for the wider complex also include fertiliser and petrochemical plants and a proposed 1,000-megawatt power station, Kenya Engineer reported.

Dangote has said the company intends to complete the refinery within about 40 months, which would put the start of operations around early 2030. Crude for the facility is expected to come partly from Kenya's Turkana oilfields, supplemented by regional producers and imports.

Construction mobilisation for the proposed Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu has advanced with the arrival of a second shipment of heavy machinery and equipment at the Port of Lamu. – Kenya Engineer

A boost for Lamu port

For the Port of Lamu, which has long struggled to attract steady traffic since its first berths opened, the refinery offers a potential source of sustained cargo. Building a plant of this scale is expected to bring large volumes of project cargo through the port over the construction period, from heavy plant and steel structures to specialised processing units.

Kenya has relied entirely on imported refined petroleum products since the Kenya Petroleum Refineries facility in Mombasa stopped processing crude in 2013. Supporters of the Lamu project argue that local refining would cut the country's import bill, steady pump prices and create thousands of jobs. At the launch, President Ruto said the refinery would create more than 60,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Land dispute still in court

The project is, however, not free of controversy. A group of 133 residents has gone to court over the use of land linked to the refinery, arguing that it includes ancestral property and raising questions over compensation. The case is still ongoing, though a court earlier allowed the groundbreaking to proceed. President Ruto told Lamu residents at the launch that their land concerns would be handled lawfully.

The arrival of the second shipment also comes days after Dangote confirmed that his group had acquired a 25 per cent stake in Kenya Pipeline Company, deepening the Nigerian billionaire's footprint in Kenya's fuel supply chain, from pipelines and storage to the planned refinery on the coast.

LAPSSET and the Kenya Ports Authority are expected to handle further consignments in the coming months as site works at Mokowe progress.

Photos: Aliko Dangote at the refinery groundbreaking in Mokowe, Lamu (The Standard); a bulk carrier berthed at the Port of Lamu (The Eastleigh Voice).