Aliko Dangote Proposes Mega-Refinery for East Africa; Seeks Partnership with Ruto and Museveni

President Ruto meets Aliko Dangote in Nairobi

Business • Mon Apr 27 2026 • By Starkid

NAIROBI - Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has unveiled an ambitious plan to replicate his 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Nigerian refinery model in East Africa. Speaking at the "Africa We Build" summit in Kenya, Dangote called on regional leaders to provide the policy backing necessary to deliver a world-class facility within the next four to five years.

The proposal, made directly to Kenyan President William Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, aims to end the continent’s "criminal" practice of exporting raw crude only to re-import expensive finished petroleum products.

The East African Vision: A Regional Energy Hub

Dangote’s proposed refinery is designed to be a collaborative project that would serve as the backbone for the East African Community (EAC).

• Target Markets: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

• Infrastructure: The project would utilize shared pipeline networks to process regional crude, significantly lowering the cost of fuel for millions of East Africans.

• Economic Impact: Beyond fuel, the facility would produce petrochemicals and fertilizers, creating an integrated industrial ecosystem.

"If they will support the refinery, we’ll build an identical one to the one we have in Nigeria. There is nothing that can stop it." — Aliko Dangote

Pan-Africanism: Visa-Free Trade and Local Leadership

During a high-level panel, Dangote and regional presidents emphasized that Africa’s industrial future depends on two key pillars: Free Movement and Domestic Investment.

• Visa-Free Africa: Dangote urged leaders to accelerate visa-free travel, noting that it is currently easier for European passport holders to move across the continent than for Africans. "It is difficult to trade with somebody that you cannot get in and out easily," he stated.

• Local Leadership: Dangote dismissed the era of waiting for foreign "saviors," insisting that international investors will only follow where local leaders take the first risk.

• Presidential Support: President William Ruto echoed this, stating that Africa has the capital and the market to run its own projects, while President Museveni described exporting raw materials as "near criminal".

Dangote Refinery (Nigeria) Update: A Global Exporter

The proposal comes as the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in Lagos continues to prove its commercial viability on a global scale.

Metric	Achievement
Domestic Supply	Supplies over 95% of Nigeria's Jet A1 (Aviation Fuel).
Global Reach	Exported 1.1 billion litres of aviation fuel to Europe between March and April 2026.
Value Addition	Processes crude into PMS, Diesel, Kerosene, and Polypropylene locally.
Economic Saving	Projected to save Nigeria billions by eliminating refined product imports.

Aviation Industry Impact: The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) described the refinery as a "lifesaver" during global supply disruptions, despite concerns over "artificial scarcity" created by downstream middle-men.