Relief as new Dar CNG station set to serve 1,500 vehicles per day

DAR ES SALAAM: THE construction of a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station, which is expected to serve over 1,500 vehicles per day, could provide a long-term solution to reducing wait times for users and help prevent service disruptions during outages.

It has been more than a month and a half since CNG supply challenges first emerged in Dar es Salaam, causing significant chaos as users were forced to wait in long queues for more than 48 hours.

The problem stemmed from an electrical fault at one of the main stations located near the airport. Currently, the city has only four operational CNG stations, with a new facility being launched at the Tabata TOT area recently.

By June next year, a total of 14 stations are expected to be operational, with construction efforts underway by both private and public companies.

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is also progressing with the construction of the largest CNG mother station, which is now 80 per cent complete.

The facility being installed at Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam, valued at 14.55bn/- is expected to be completed by December this year and will serve more than 1,500 small vehicles daily.

Speaking to SUNDAY NEWS reporters who visited the construction site, TPDC Construction Site Engineer Mwikwabe Mhono said the necessary equipment and machinery have already been purchased and are expected to arrive at the port of Dar es Salaam on November 23.

“This station is large and over 1,500 small vehicles will be refuelled with gas each day. It will feature four dispensers with eight nozzles to serve eight small vehicles simultaneously, as well as three additional dispensers dedicated to larger vehicles,” said Eng Mhono.

“This station will significantly ease gas refuelling challenges for gas energy users, whose numbers are steadily increasing,” he added.

In another development, SUNDAY NEWS reporters also visited the newly launched Tembo Energies CNG station at Tabata TOT in Dar es Salaam.

The station manager, Ambilikile Mwangolombe, explained that the growing demand for CNG services had already reduced waiting times by ap- proximately 80 per cent.

“The presence of this station has made gas refuelling services more accessible.

Our service is quick and efficient, allowing motorists to avoid long waiting times.

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The turnaround time has improved and customers can fill up and leave quickly, continuing with their activities instead of waiting at the station,” said Mr Mwangolombe.

He added that the sta- tion can serve around 250 vehicles with 10-25 kg gas tanks and two large trucks (3,000 kg capacity) per day.

By June 2023, the Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority (EWURA) had registered eight CNG vehicle conversion workshops in the National Petroleum and Gas Information System (NPGIS).

Together, these workshops had converted around 3,100 vehicles to CNG, as reported in EWURA’s Natural Gas Sub-Sector Performance Report for the 2022/23 financial year.

During the same period, the frequency of CNG vehicle refuelling surged to 178,773 in 2022/23, up from 73,659 in 2021/22 an impressive 146 percent increase.

The trend shows the growing adoption of CNG vehicle conversions and greater awareness of the economic benefits of switch- ing to natural gas.

According to TPDC Acting Gas Business Manager, Eng Emmanuel Gilbert, ap- proximately 4,800 vehicles in Tanzania are now running on CNG.

The country’s existing stations can refuel between 1,200 and 1,500 vehicles per day.

To further promote the use of clean energy, the government is considering reducing or eliminating import duties on gas-powered vehicles and their components.