Cement giant Bamburi is seeking to supply over one million tonnes of cement and various concrete products for the construction of 700,000-barrels-per-day Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu.

If the bid is successful, it could emerge as one of the largest single construction materials supply order in Kenya’s modern history as the setup of key infrastructure gathers pace.

On Thursday, Bamburi Cement CEO Geoffrey Ndugwa said the firm is bidding to supply the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemical SEZ throughout the project’s construction cycle, pitching its DuraCem and Ultra-series product lines for the refinery’s civil and marine works. 

The bid comes as construction formally began on the 700,000 barrel-per-day facility, which Aliko Dangote has pledged to commission within 40 months.

The refinery’s civil works are expected to consume approximately one million tonnes of cement and concrete solutions. 

Bamburi says its Mombasa plant is positioned to serve the Lamu site, offering DuraCem, a sulfate- and chloride-resistant 42.5-grade cement designed for marine environments, alongside specialised concrete products including waterproof, self-compacting, pervious and fibre-reinforced variants.

“We are well positioned to manufacture and deliver to the project site from our Mombasa plant,” Ndugwa explained.

Bamburi's commercial push follows assurances that the refinery will prioritise locally manufactured inputs. The company has pitched DuraCem specifically for large-scale and coastal construction, a segment where imported alternatives would face both logistical and tariff disadvantages.

Bamburi, now a member of Tanzania’s Amsons Group following its 2024 takeover, has been executing a capacity expansion strategy designed to capture exactly this kind of demand. 

In December 2025, the company signed a US$250 million engineering, procurement and construction contract with China’s Sinoma CBMI for a new clinkerisation plant in Matuga, Kwale County.

That facility, scheduled to add 1.6 million tonnes of annual clinker capacity, is intended to more than double Bamburi’s cement production from 1.8 million to 4 million tonnes.

Bamburi reported a 59 percent rise in first-half profit to KSh 1.37 billion for the six months to June 2026, its strongest interim result in nine years, with operating profit jumping 72 percent. Cash generated from operations swung to a KSh 2.66 billion inflow from a modest KSh 502 million a year earlier.

However, Bamburi may not be the sole provider eyeing the Lamu refinery project. Other cement makers in Kenya including Mombasa Cement, Savannah Cement and EAPCC, possess comparable product portfolios, though Bamburi’s coastal manufacturing footprint and recent capacity investments give it a logistical advantage for a project sited at the coast. 

The company also brings a track record on complex national projects including the Standard Gauge Railway, Dongo Kundu Bypass, Makupa Bridge, Mwache Dam and the Talanta Sports Stadium.

Construction of the refinery is facing headwinds after a group of 133 Lamu residents has filed a case in the Malindi Environment and Land Court claiming ancestral rights to land earmarked for the development, seeking compensation and resettlement guarantees. 

The court declined to halt the groundbreaking but ordered parties to maintain the status quo pending a hearing scheduled for 14 October. On Wednesday, Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote struck a defiant tone on the litigation, saying the company is “not scared of people taking us to court”.

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