Dangote's Sh2 trillion Lamu refinery: Guaranteed jobs, training for thousands of Kenyans

Dangote Group has laid out plans to create employment for Kenyans holding engineering degrees and diplomas.

This comes as the company presses ahead with its Sh2.2 trillion oil refinery and broader industrial ecosystem in Lamu.

The announcement came during the refinery's groundbreaking ceremony on September 30, where Dangote described a project reaching well beyond oil refining alone.

According to Dangote, the development will anchor an entire industrial ecosystem spanning energy, petrochemicals, logistics, engineering, marine services, manufacturing, skills development, and technology.

As part of the rollout, Dangote confirmed plans to set up a training school in Lamu, aimed at equipping 1,000 local residents with the skills needed to take part in the project.

The programme will mainly target people holding engineering degrees, diplomas and other relevant technical qualifications.

Dangote said anyone who completes the training and holds the necessary engineering credentials will be guaranteed a job linked to the project.

The company added that the company hopes to generate thousands of opportunities across the refinery's wider value chain, not confined to the refinery alone.

Beyond direct refinery employment, the broader industrial ecosystem is expected to create openings in logistics, engineering, manufacturing, marine services, technology, and small and medium-sized enterprises operating around the project.

Speaking directly to the Lamu County Government, Dangote gave a firm commitment on local employment.

"To the government of Lamu, before we start even our file, which will be in the next couple of days, I want to assure you we are coming here to set up a training school that will train 1,000 of your people to now become anybody who has an engineering degree, diploma, or whatever; tell him that he has a job. His job is guaranteed," he said.

The refinery, set on Kenya's coast, is expected to take up to three years to complete.

Once operational, it will supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries, helping cut East Africa's reliance on imported fuel.

Dangote Group Chairman and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has indicated the plant is designed to refine 700,000 barrels of crude per day, with capacity to produce more than 100 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel daily.

The facility is set to become Dangote Group's largest refining investment outside Nigeria, part of the company's wider push to expand its energy footprint across the continent.

"What this investment (Lamu refinery) will do for the Kenyans, it's not only the refinery; the refinery is like the gate. Once you open and have the refinery, you'll be shocked at how many people will know to come and invest in Kenya," Dangote said during an earlier interview in Lagos.

Beyond Kenya, the refinery is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tanzania had initially been in the running to host the facility, but Dangote, following a meeting with President Samia Suluhu Hassan in June, cited commercial and technical factors behind the group's decision to settle on Lamu instead.

The Port of Lamu has already received 2,930 metric tonnes of construction equipment, delivered aboard the vessel MV Da Yang.

The Kenya Ports Authority confirmed the ship docked at the port on September 26, just ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony.

President William Ruto, while touring the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, on September 25, said the Lamu project is expected to improve fuel reliability and security in Kenya, while supporting industrialisation and creating an estimated 60,000 jobs.

He noted that the refinery would be linked to crude oil supplies via 120 kilometres of sea cables, used to transport crude from ships directly to the facility.

"This huge achievement is a testament to what African governments, investors and financial institutions can do together," Ruto said.

Dangote also revealed that the Lamu plant is expected to generate significantly more power than its counterpart in Nigeria.

"What we are going to have, the power plant in Lamu will be actually double (the one in Nigeria) because we are going to produce about 1000 megawatts in Lamu out of petcoke and we'll have 500 megawatts to sell to the government of Kenya," he said.

Despite the scale of the project, it has not been without controversy. The development faces opposition from local residents and ongoing land-rights lawsuits over alleged displacement and property destruction linked to preliminary site works.

More than 130 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County have gone to court seeking to halt what they describe as the unlawful takeover and destruction of land their families have occupied and farmed for generations.

The residents argue that the project threatens to displace them without any resettlement plan or compensation in place.