With a one million litres per hour flow rate, the new line will remove about 700 trucks from the roads daily at maximum utilization/FILE PHOTO
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 2 – The mainline mechanical and electrical works for the new Nairobi – Mombasa pipeline (Line 5) are now complete paving the way for completion of the project by the end of March 2018.
Cabinet Secretary for Petroleum and Mining John Munyes says the completion of the project is expected to lower road maintenance costs given the hundreds of trucks the new line will remove from the roads.
The final works that the contractor has been undertaking ahead of the month end completion include hydro testing, station mechanical, electrical and communication works.
“The line 5 pipeline project, which is also the country’s second largest infrastructural undertaking, is going to be a game changer in the fuel supply logistics and dynamics. Because of this new line, Kenya is going to be competitive as a country and the ultimate cost of fuel will come down once the line is fully in operation,” Munyes said.
With a one million litres per hour flow rate, the new line will remove about 700 trucks from the roads daily at maximum utilization.
The move is also expected to enhance safety as pipeline transportation of fuel is the safest and most cost-effective way of transporting petroleum products the world over.
On his part, The Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director Joe Sang said that using modern world-class engineering technology, the Sh48 billion project will see the installation of four new pump stations in Changamwe, Maungu, Mtito Andei and Sultan Hamud and two booster pumps in Kipevu.
The KPC boss added that the new line will also include new firefighting systems in the new stations together with other energy efficient equipment and pipeline monitoring technologies which will introduce efficiency and safety in fuel supply logistics in Kenya and the region.
KPC is in the process of replacing the existing Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline that has been in operation for 40 years whose flow rate is about 750,000 litres per hour and can therefore not meet the national and regional demand for fuel.
A Vision 2030 flagship project, the construction of the 20-inch diameter 450km pipeline commenced in 2014.
Once complete, the pipeline will ensure sustained, reliable and efficient transportation of petroleum products in the region and meet demand in the next 30 years with an installed flow rate for phase one of one million litres per hour by end of this year, 1.9 million litres per hour for phase two in 2023 and 2.6 million litres per hour for phase three in 2044.
