The KEPSA Energy and Petroleum Sector Board visited the Petrocity Fuel Depot Facility in Konza City on August 30, 2024. The aim of the visit was to have an exclusive tour of the facility, learn more about their day-to-day operations, and establish potential partnership areas that would lead to the realization of an enabling business within the petroleum sector.  The delegation was led by George Aluru, Chair of the KEPSA Energy and Petroleum Sector Board; John Njogu, Vice Chair of the KEPSA Energy and Petroleum Sector Board; and Peter Mecha, General Manager of Petrocity.

During the visit, it was noted that a major challenge affecting the downstream petroleum sector is the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act 2016. The provisions within the Act subject transporters to a specific axle load limit despite the nature of their goods being live and of varying densities. This leads to increased operational costs due to fines paid at the various borders. Additionally, poor infrastructure around the fuel depot poses as a major challenge due to strained access of the facility.

Did You Miss It?

Key Points to Note

• The Petrocity Depot holds a capacity of 72 million litres making it one of the largest fuel storage facilities in East and Central Africa.
• The Depot is fully automated with services from registration to loading taking less than 45 minutes which eases the time burden in operations.  
• An in-house weigh bridge is under development which will help transporters validate their weight per axle and the overall gross vehicle weight, mitigating cases of overloading.
• Despite the depot being conveniently situated about 60km from Nairobi City, it is only 30% utilized with most of its produce being exported to the EAC Region.
• A key challenge faced, however, is poor infrastructure especially the roads towards the facility, which is a key inhibitor to easy access to the depot

Asks

• Enhanced advocacy in the development of the proper infrastructure around the facility which will increase access and ease of doing business.
• An engagement with KENHA to address the challenge that transporters face subject to the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act 2016 which makes Kenyan Transporters less competitive within the region.