Bamburi is pursuing a commercial opportunity to supply more than one million tonnes of cement and concrete products for the planned Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu, according to The Eastleigh Voice.
The company expects its Mombasa plant to support deliveries to the refinery site.
The opportunity highlights how Dangote’s entry into Kenya’s energy sector could create business for local manufacturers, even though Dangote Cement already has a significant manufacturing presence elsewhere in East Africa.
Bamburi targets Dangote’s construction demand
Bamburi CEO Geoffrey Ndugwa said the civil and related construction works for the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery are expected to consume approximately one million tonnes of cement and concrete solutions.
“We are well positioned to manufacture and deliver to the project site from our Mombasa plant,” Ndugwa said, according to KBC.
Bamburi is proposing its locally manufactured DuraCem Cement, a 42.5-grade speciality product designed for large-scale and marine construction, alongside its Ultra-series concrete products. These include waterproof, self-compacting, pervious and fibre-reinforced concrete.
The proposed contract also comes as Kenya pushes for locally manufactured products to be used in the Sh2 trillion refinery project, potentially creating opportunities for other domestic suppliers beyond cement.
Dangote’s Kenya gap
Dangote Cement already operates a 3 million-tonne-per-year integrated plant in Mtwara, Tanzania, and a 2.5 million-tonne plant in Ethiopia.
Its current operations page lists manufacturing or other cement operations across 11 African countries, while Kenya is identified among its eastern and southern African markets with existing or planned operations.
That makes the Bamburi opportunity notable: the Nigerian group is bringing its refinery investment into Kenya, while a Kenyan cement manufacturer is positioning itself to supply part of the construction materials needed to build it.
The refinery broke ground in Lamu on September 30 and is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Reuters reports that the facility is expected to serve fuel markets across East Africa and is scheduled for completion in 2030.
For Bamburi, the potential deal could also coincide with an expansion of its own production capacity. The company has a $250 million engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sinoma CBMI Construction for a new clinkerisation plant in Matuga, Kwale County, with annual clinker capacity of 1.6 million tonnes, according to The Eastleigh Voice.
The proposed cement deal therefore offers an early example of how Dangote’s Kenyan refinery could generate opportunities for East African businesses before the facility begins producing fuel.