‘Nine CNG filling stations in offing’
A TOTAL of nine Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations are going to be built in the country within the next 24 months, to eliminate the challenge of the service.
According to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), materials for building two stations have started to be shipped into the country.
This was said by TPDC’s Director of Oil and Gas, Dr Wellington Hudson at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Dr Hudson said there has been a positive response from people changing their vehicle system from fuel to the gas system in order to reduce the cost of operation.
He said that to date, there are two stations in the Dar es Salaam Region and one in Mtwara Region, adding that two of the nine stations will be completed within this year.
He said the two stations will be built by the TAQA DALBIT Company at Julius Nyerere International Airport area and the other one will be built at Sinza area along Sam Nujoma Road and will be equipped with garages to install CNG systems in cars.
Dr Hudson added that the TPDC will build the mother station at Mlimani City area in Dar es Salaam, which will have the capacity to accommodate six cars at par, as well as six CNG trucks to distribute gas to the smaller stations.
“Each of the trucks will have the capacity to fill 0.4million standard cubic feet, where it will be able to serve almost four small stations at the same time,” said Dr Hudson.
He said the stations will increase and accelerate the presence of small gas filling stations. Parallel to the station at Mlimani City, there will be a garage for the installation of the gas system in cars that will be operated by the University of Dar es Salaam.
He mentioned other stations that will be built during that period, including one that will be built by the TURKY Petroleum Company in Bagamoyo District, two in Mkuranga District that will be built by the Anric Company and the Dangote Company and the Goba station will be built by the BQ Company.
He said that the TAZARA filling station is currently not working because it developed a mechanical fault and efforts to restore it were ongoing.
He said the repairs are expected to be completed by the end of next week and services will return to normal. Dr Hudson said so far more than 2000 cars in the country are using the CNG system.
He said CNG potential increases for powering vehicles in the country as the price of petroleum products keep increasing globally.
One kilogramme of CNG is sold for an average of 1,550/-, while a litre of petrol is sold at an average of 3000/- and for a small car 11kg of gas costing 17,000/- saves 280 kilometres.
