Dangote Group has moved ahead with plans for its proposed refinery and petrochemical complex in Kenya after awarding a $450 million contract to Engineers India Limited.
The Indian state-owned engineering company will provide project management and engineering consultancy services for the planned facility in Lamu, a coastal town in Kenya.
Engineers India disclosed the agreement in a filing to the Mumbai stock market, stating that it had been appointed as both Project Management Consultant and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) Consultant for the greenfield project.
The refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Dangote had earlier announced that construction was expected to commence before the end of September, with the combined refinery and petrochemical development estimated to cost about $16 billion, according to The East African.
Engineers India said the project is expected to expand fuel production in East Africa while helping the region reduce its reliance on imported petroleum products.
The company also described the development as significant to regional energy security, given its planned scale and potential to increase local petroleum supply.
The Kenya project marks another collaboration between Engineers India and Dangote Group. The Indian company was previously involved in the development of the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, which has a current capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
The Lagos refinery is also undergoing an expansion programme that is expected to increase its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, with completion targeted for 2029.
The planned Lamu facility would extend Dangote Group’s refining interests beyond West Africa into East Africa, giving the conglomerate a major refining project on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast in addition to its operations along Nigeria’s Atlantic coastline.
Dangote Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Aliko Dangote, said the Kenyan investment forms part of the company’s broader plan to expand industrial capacity across Africa.
According to Dangote, the Lamu refinery is connected to the group’s Vision 2030 strategy and is expected to be completed within three years of the start of construction. He said the company plans to invest about $16 billion in the overall project.
The investment is also intended to support the production of refined petroleum products and other industrial outputs closer to African markets, potentially reducing reliance on imported finished products.
Dangote has also pointed to the wider investment opportunities available across Africa, saying large-scale and credible projects could attract more international capital to the continent.
The Kenya project comes as Dangote Group continues efforts to broaden African participation in the ownership of its Lagos refinery.
The company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the refinery opened on September 14, with plans to raise $1.6 billion through the sale of 4.1 billion ordinary shares. The offer is scheduled to close on October 13, while the shares are expected to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange in November.
Prior to the IPO, investors expressed interest worth about $3.7 billion in a private placement involving the refinery. Dangote said the company accepted $2.5 billion, leaving additional room for African investors to participate in the business.
The group has also announced plans to list its fertiliser business through an IPO by 2028. Dangote said the business would become the world’s largest fertiliser company when listed.
For Engineers India, the $450 million Kenyan contract adds substantially to its existing order book, which stood at about $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2026. Its consultancy division accounted for roughly $1.2 billion of that figure.
The company said the consultancy business typically generates stronger margins than its turnkey engineering operations, while the Dangote contract will further support its expansion beyond the Middle East, where engineering activity has recently slowed.
Engineers India also entered into a separate agreement with Hindustan Copper Limited in June 2026 to provide project management and safety consultancy services for mining and smelting operations. That agreement is unrelated to the Dangote refinery project in Kenya.
