Nigerian billionaire and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused local oil marketers and international oil companies of fuelling protests over land earmarked for his proposed $16 billion refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery on Wednesday, despite a court order restricting construction activities over a land dispute.
Speaking on the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme, Dangote dismissed concerns surrounding the protests by some residents over compensation for land acquired for the project.
The proposed refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels per day when completed in 2030.
Dangote rejected claims that his company had taken more land than it required, insisting that the project was limited to the portion allocated by the Kenyan government.
He described the protests as “games played by local marketers and international players” and maintained that they would not stop the project from going ahead as planned.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by leaders from Uganda, Ethiopia, Togo and Benin. According to Reuters, Dangote has offered regional governments a combined 30 per cent stake in the refinery.
The project is expected to become the largest refinery in East Africa and Kenya’s biggest infrastructure project since independence, surpassing the $5.1 billion Standard Gauge Railway.
Dangote said the refinery would demonstrate that the success of his 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Nigeria could be replicated elsewhere in Africa.
“Lekki proved that it can be done, Lamu must prove that it can be repeated,” he said.
However, the Save Lamu campaign group has expressed concerns about the potential environmental impact of the project on local communities.
The group’s co-founder, Walid Ali, told the BBC that residents wanted to see the findings of the environmental impact assessment as well as details of the proposed measures to mitigate possible environmental effects.
A group of 133 Lamu residents approached the Kenyan High Court seeking to halt construction work. Following the legal action, excavation and other construction activities on the disputed land have been restricted pending the next court hearing scheduled for October 14.
Dangote said the refinery could create about 60,000 jobs at the peak of construction, with local communities expected to benefit from the investment.
The project will also include a 1,000-megawatt power plant intended to supply electricity to Dangote’s operations and other industries expected to establish businesses in the area.
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