Bamburi Cement is chasing a supply contract worth more than one million tonnes of cement and concrete products at the 700,000-bpd Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu, a project the Kenyan government values at Sh2.2 trillion.

The Mombasa-based manufacturer says it wants to supply locally produced construction materials across the full development cycle of the refinery, which held its groundbreaking at Lamu on September 30. Bamburi chief executive Geoffrey Ndugwa laid out the scale of the prize in a company statement.

"The civil and related construction works for the 700,000 barrel-per-day refinery will consume an approximate 1 million tons of cement and concrete solutions, and we are well positioned to manufacture and deliver to the project site from our Mombasa plant," Ndugwa said.

Product line pitched for coastal conditions

Bamburi is proposing its DuraCem 42.5 LH/SR, a speciality cement designed for aggressive environments, including structures exposed to sulphates and moisture. The company manufactures the product at its Mombasa plant by intergrinding Portland cement clinker with blast furnace slag. Its low heat of hydration can help reduce thermal cracking in large concrete pours — a relevant attribute for the refinery's expected mass foundations.

The company is also offering its Ultra-series speciality concrete line, spanning waterproof, self-compacting, pervious and fibre-reinforced grades. According to Bamburi, the waterproof concrete suits structures exposed to moisture, while the self-compacting product flows under its own weight and fits heavily reinforced or difficult-to-access sections.

"Such products could be relevant to a project being developed in a coastal environment and involving extensive civil, foundation, marine and industrial infrastructure," the company said.

The government has signalled that Kenyan manufacturers and suppliers should participate in the refinery and the wider petrochemical complex, which strengthens Bamburi's positioning — though no supply contract has been awarded, and the tonnage figure remains Bamburi's own estimate of the opportunity rather than a sanctioned award.

Refinery anchors LAPSSET complex

Dangote plans the refinery as the anchor investment in an integrated petroleum and petrochemical complex on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. The wider development is expected to include a 1,000 MW power plant plus fertiliser, plastics and chemical manufacturing facilities. Government sources project up to 60,000 direct jobs.

Construction logistics are already moving through Lamu Port. Kenya's State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs reported that a vessel carrying about 2,930 tonnes of construction equipment docked on September 26. More than 110 pieces of equipment have since arrived on site, with another 400 expected within 60 days.

Bamburi expands its own capacity in parallel

The refinery bid comes as Bamburi builds out its own production base. The company has signed a $250 million (about Sh32 billion) engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sinoma CBMI Construction for a 1.6 million-tonne-per-year clinker plant at Matuga in Kwale County.

The Matuga project will lift Bamburi's clinker capacity from one million to 2.6 million tonnes annually and raise cement production capacity from 1.8 million to four million tonnes. That added volume could strengthen the company's hand in large coastal infrastructure projects — but Bamburi frames Matuga as a longer-term expansion, not the immediate source of any refinery supply, which would run from the existing Mombasa plant.

Watch item: whether Bamburi converts its pitch into a formal supply award as refinery civil works accelerate at Lamu — and how quickly the remaining 400 equipment deliveries land within the stated 60-day window.