Dangote to build 1,000MW power plant at Lamu refinery, sell 500MW to Kenya
By Aboki Forex —
Dangote Group plans to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity at its proposed refinery project in Lamu, Kenya. Half of that power, 500MW, is expected to be sold to the Kenyan government.
Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, disclosed this during a fireside chat at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. He said the planned power plant will generate twice the electricity produced by the power facility at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos.
How the Lamu power will be used
Dangote explained that the Lamu refinery will consume about 500MW of electricity. About 450MW will be required to operate the refinery, while an additional 50MW will be kept to accommodate fluctuations in power demand. The remaining 500MW will be supplied to the Kenyan government under an agreement currently being negotiated.
“We are doing 1,000 megawatts in Lamu. We don’t need up to 1,000MW; we’re going to take about 450MW. We’ll need 50MW for fluctuation or whatever, and for the remaining 500MW, we are signing an agreement with the Kenyan government to sell the 500MW,” Dangote stated.
He said the extra electricity would make Lamu attractive to manufacturers and other businesses looking to establish operations in the area. Companies investing in Lamu would not need to spend heavily on their own power generation because of the additional capacity from the refinery project, he added.
Refinery, jobs and industrial hub plan
Dangote said the refinery will serve as the centre of a wider industrial ecosystem, with other businesses expected to establish operations around the project. The development will require more than 60,000 workers and could attract businesses providing goods and services to the refinery and its workforce.
The Lamu project is expected to include a refinery, polypropylene and base oil production facilities, alongside the 1,000MW power plant. Dangote said the refinery will have a production capacity of 700,000 barrels per day and is expected to cost between $15 billion and $16 billion.
The project is targeted for completion by 2030.
What it means
For Kenyan industry, the planned 500MW sale could ease power constraints around Lamu and support manufacturing. For Dangote Group, the project extends its refinery and energy ambitions beyond Nigeria, where its Lekki refinery already includes a power facility. The Lamu plant, if delivered, would be twice the size of that Lekki power facility.