Contractor misses deadline for Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline

 

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has pushed forward the commissioning of the new Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline after Lebanese contractor Zakhem International failed to deliver the project in July.

Completion of the pipeline, which is expected to substantially increase the flow of petroleum products and displace at least 70 trucks from the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, has been postponed several times.

It was initially supposed to be ready in September 2016, but this was later moved to February 2017, then April and later to July 31.

The company said the new facility would now take a few more months, leaving the country to continue relying on the aged line for fuel supply.

The 40-year-old line is unstable and prone to mishaps that have in the past left Nairobi and its environs short of petroleum products.

KPC Managing Director Joe Sang said the contractor had been unable to obtain critical equipment to enable them conclude the project.

“The pipeline is 92 per cent complete and we expect the remaining aspects to be concluded over the next few months,” he said. 

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