A multibillion-shilling cooking gas facility owned by a Tanzanian entrepreneur will be officially opened by President William Ruto on Friday. The initiative is expected to increase competition in the market and lower cooking gas prices for consumers.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) revealed that it had granted the permit for Taifa Gas, owned by billionaire businessman Rostam Aziz, to construct the facility.
In order to handle and evacuate cooking gas from ships to the mainland, the facility would engage in price competition with Africa Gas and Oil Ltd (Agol), controlled by Mombasa entrepreneur Mohamed Jaffer. This will enable dealers to pass on cost savings to customers.
Taifa Gas plans to construct a 30,000-tonne facility in the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, close to the port of Mombasa. Prior estimates put the price at $130 million (Sh16.25 billion). Agol, a nearby plant, has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes.
“Yes, we have already issued them the licence to build the plant. President William Ruto will grace the ground-breaking today,” Epra told Business Daily.
