Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto are due to break ground on a $16bn oil refinery in Lamu, despite protests from residents seeking more compensation for land used by the project. Dangote says construction will proceed as planned and the refinery should be ready by 2030; at 700,000 barrels a day, it would be East Africa’s largest industrial project by capacity and the region’s first refinery.

The project is Kenya’s largest infrastructure investment since independence and is expected to create 60,000 jobs at peak construction. It will include a 1,000-megawatt power plant, and Kenya’s energy minister says crude oil can be bought on the international market even though Kenya does not produce it. The refinery could eventually increase fuel supply, but pump prices will still be influenced by global crude costs.