Nairobi — Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has selected Kenya's Lamu County as the preferred location for a proposed Sh2.2 trillion oil refinery, a project that could significantly reshape East Africa's petroleum industry.

According to Bloomberg, the planned facility will have the capacity to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the largest refinery in East Africa and the second largest on the continent after Dangote's refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.

A site has already been identified on Lamu Island, with preliminary design, engineering works and soil testing currently underway.

People familiar with the project said construction is expected to take about five years, with financing set to come from a mix of internal resources, corporate bonds and proceeds from an initial public offering.

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The development follows Dangote's announcement in April that he intended to expand his refining business into East Africa through a facility modelled on his flagship refinery in Nigeria.

Speaking at the "Africa We Build" summit in Nairobi, Dangote said his group was ready to build a 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery in partnership with governments in the region, subject to policy support.

"I can give commitment... if they will support the refinery, we'll build the identical one that we have in Nigeria," he said earlier, adding that the project could be completed within four to five years.

The proposed refinery is expected to serve Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, helping reduce the region's dependence on imported refined petroleum products while strengthening regional energy security.