How Sh48b pipeline will revolutionalise fuel transport in region

The Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline at Kenya Pipeline Company Site in Mombasa County. [File, Standard]

Last month, Kenya and the region witnessed a major milestone: the first batch of fuel on the new 450km- Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline (Line 5) was successfully delivered to Kenya Pipeline Company’s Nairobi depot paving way for the commissioning of the pipeline. There are a number of reasons the completion of this project should be celebrated.

The Government, through KPC, is currently undertaking a number of essential petroleum infrastructure projects to enhance the availability of fuel in Kenya and neighbouring countries, some of which include replacement of pipelines, enhancement of storage capacity and investment in loading facilities with a view to creating a major petroleum logistics hub in the country to boost regional trade.

The new 20-inch Line 5 is a Vision 2030 Sh48.4 billion flagship project, the second in Kenya after the Standard Gauge Railway, which seeks to ensure sustained, reliable and efficient transportation of petroleum products in the region and to meet demand in the next 30 years.

The line will be a turning point in the transportation of fuel in the country and the region as a whole: from ensuring sustained, reliable and efficient transportation of petroleum products in the region to safety in transportation of petroleum.

Democratic Republic

It will adequately serve the country and the region’s petroleum demand which is projected to rise to 11.4 billion litres in 2020 and 24.5 billion litres in 2044.

The new pipeline will also enhance and improve the reliability of fuel supply to the export market of Uganda, Rwanda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo which will not only transform the petroleum sector but also have a positive impact on the environment and road transport by eliminating hundreds of trucks that transport fuel between Mombasa and Nairobi on a daily basis.

Besides saving the government of billions of shillings annually that go into road maintenance hence creating extra funds to support President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 agenda, namely food security, universal healthcare, manufacturing and affordable housing, Line 5 will also significantly boost the achievement of the government’s agenda by providing fuel, which is a key enabler in the country’s socio-economic development. The line will reduce hundreds of trucks from our roads daily safeguarding against road degradation and environmental pollution arising from continued trucking of petroleum products.

In effect, this will also boost road safety and protect the public from the risks associated with transporting fuel by road.

Currently, KPC pumps 80 per cent of all imported oil products in the country with the remaining 20 per cent being transported by road.

Besides Line 5, KPC has also completed construction of four new storage tanks in Nairobi that will provide sufficient capacity for receipt of higher volumes of products expected once Line 5 is commissioned.

Operational flexibility

The four tanks will not only increase storage capacity in Nairobi to 233 million litres from the current 100 million litres, they will also enhance operational flexibility and increase tank turnaround for Kipevu Oil Storage Facility in Mombasa.

As a result of the bigger storage capacity, the country and the region are now assured of security of supply but most importantly, there will be a reduction of demurrage charges because ships will not have to wait for long to dispense product.

This will ultimately bring down the fuel prices for Kenyans.

As we celebrate the completion of these key infrastructural undertakings which has been made possible by Kenya’s finest engineers and technical staff, it is worth mentioning that regional demand for refined petroleum has increased to about 13 per cent of Kenya’s total exports, making it the country’s third largest export product after tea and cut flowers.

Last year alone, Kenya exported about 2 billion litres of refined petroleum products to the five East African countries and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Uganda leads the pack having imported products worth over Kshs 1 billion last year.

Therefore, banking on sufficient and efficient fuel infrastructural systems, Kenya is assured of adequate, reliable and cost effective supply of petroleum products across the region hence generating foreign exchange for our economy.

It is important to point out that increase in local and regional demand for petroleum products has in recent years not been matched by the development of requisite infrastructure to meet supply chain and market requirements.

This is the strategic gap that KPC seeks to bridge with the newly built assets in order to fuel the national and regional economies.

Mr Aseka is the General Manager in charge of infrastructure at Kenya Pipeline Company. He can be reached on [email protected]