KPC to sink Ksh.30 billion into new Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is expected to invest an estimated Ksh.30 billion into the installation of a new Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline.

The laying of the pipeline whose completion date is envisioned for December 2024 is expected to enhance the State Corporation’s flow rate improving its core mandate to transport, store and deliver bulk petroleum products to the hinterland.

“We have already gotten the approval from our board and have submitted to the National Treasury a proposal to enhance the capacity of the Eastern section y installing a new line,” stated KPC Chief Planning Officer Elizabeth Akinyi on Wednesday.

The new line is expected to increase the pipeline capacity between Mombasa and Nairobi which is currently served by a single line (line 5).

Last year, KPC decommissioned the old Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline which had been in service for nearly 45 years to leave a single operational line between the two cities.

Additionally, the Ksh.30 billion capitation is expected to support additional expenditures including the installation of additional pumps on the Nairobi-Eldoret line and bolster storage capacities at depots in Eldoret and Kisumu.

Currently, KPC has an estimated 1342 kilometres of pipeline including the Western section which features parallel pipelines between Nairobi and Eldoret (Line 2 &4) and Sinendent and Kisumu (Line 3&6).

Funding for the infrastructure expansion is expected to primarily come from KPC’s proposed upward tariff reduction which is currently the subject of both stakeholder and regulatory approvals.

KPC estimates its asset base will grow from the current Ksh.85.9 billion to Ksh.104 billion in June 2025 on fresh investments.

The State Corporation meanwhile projects its operating expenses to grow by six per cent over the same period.

The infrastructure enhancement initiatives by KPC are expected to grow the capacity of the State Corporation which sees the demand to transport petroleum products reaching 6.6 million cubic metres by 2025 from 5.8 million cubic metres at present.

In addition to the pipeline infrastructure, KPC operates storage depots in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu alongside evacuation facilities and jet fuel depots.