Uhuru lauds new Sh40 billion Kipevu Oil Terminal set to tame fuel costs - PHOTOS

President Uhuru Kenyatta conducted an inspection tour of the newly constructed Sh40 billion offshore Kipevu Oil Terminal at the Port of Mombasa on Thursday.

President Kenyatta, who was flanked by visiting State Counsellor and China Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, lauded the legacy project, which is currently 96 per cent complete.

Once complete, the terminal, which is fully funded by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), will be the largest terminal of its kind in the African continent.

The four new berths on the terminal each have the capacity to offload more than 190 million litres of fuel per session, representing the amount of fuel Uganda uses per month.

The new terminal has the capacity to handle a variety of petroleum products including crude oil, super petrol, diesel, jet fuel and LPG.

Since before independence, the oil needs of Kenya and other countries in East Africa were being served by just one terminal, which could handle only a single vessel at a time.

Officials told Swala Nyeti that it normally takes a vessel an entire day to offload its cargo, but the new terminal will handle four vessels at a go, with each taking 5 hours to offload.

The Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) will be able to handle 20 vessels each day.

Once operational, the president noted that the new jetty will save Kenya over Sh2 billion yearly in demurrage incurred by oil shippers hence significantly reducing fuel pump prices.

The project is being implemented by the China Communications Construction Company.

Uhuru said the new jetty will replace replace the 50-year old onshore Kipevu Oil Terminal and enhance supply and stabilize prices of petroleum products.