Aliko Dangote, Africa’s pre-eminent industrialist and President of the Dangote Group, has signalled a landmark intention to partner with the governments of Kenya and Uganda for the construction of a major oil refinery in Tanzania. The proposed facility is intended to be a replica of his flagship 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) complex in Nigeria, currently the largest single-train refinery in the world.
Speaking on Thursday at a high-level conference on infrastructure financing in Nairobi, the Nigerian billionaire expressed unwavering confidence in the project’s viability, provided the necessary political alignment is secured. “If they will support the refinery, we will build the identical one that we have in Nigeria,” Mr Dangote asserted, referring to his high-level consultations with regional leaders.
The Nairobi summit featured a distinguished assembly of regional heads of state, including President William Ruto of Kenya and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. During his address, Mr Dangote revealed that his refining ambitions extend beyond current benchmarks, with early-stage works already underway for a vision that could eventually scale to a staggering 1.4 million barrels per day.
“We will have about 10 per cent of the entire United States’ refining capacity,” he noted, adding that the complex would be fully integrated with petrochemical production to foster a robust downstream industrial sector across East Africa.
President William Ruto corroborated the discussions, confirming that East African nations are deliberating on a joint refinery to be situated at the Tanzanian port of Tanga. According to the Kenyan President, the Tanga facility is envisioned as a regional hub designed to process crude oil from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda.
“We are going to have a joint refinery in Tanga to benefit all of us,” President Ruto stated, emphasising the collaborative nature of the venture intended to serve the entire bloc.
Mr Dangote framed the push for an East African refinery as a critical step toward continental self-sufficiency. Drawing from the Nigerian experience, he highlighted how local manufacturing acts as a vital buffer against volatile global markets. He cited the example of polypropylene, an essential industrial polymer whose price recently surged from $900 to $3,000 per tonne; local production, he argued, was the only factor that allowed many domestic industries to survive such shocks.
The industrialist also commended Uganda’s stringent policy on limiting raw material exports, an approach he believes is essential for African industrialisation. “Why take raw materials out and then bring back finished goods?” he questioned. “We too have educated people. We have big financial institutions. It is not like before things have changed.
Reflecting on his career, Mr Dangote recounted the immense challenges of the early 2000s, including securing a $478 million international loan amidst domestic high-interest rates and widespread international doubt regarding African technical capacity. The successful, early repayment of that loan served as the cornerstone of his message to the Nairobi delegates: “It is possible. Africans can do it. Let us not be scared.”
If realised, the Tanga refinery project would represent a seismic shift in East Africa’s energy landscape. Currently, the region remains heavily reliant on refined petroleum imports from the Middle East, a dependency that leaves local economies vulnerable to price spikes and supply chain disruptions, most recently exacerbated by geopolitical tensions in the Persian Gulf. By anchoring production within the continent, the partnership aims to transform East Africa into a self-reliant petrochemical powerhouse.
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