Sh 1.7 Billion Oil Jetty in Kisumu to Open up Lake Victoria Transport System.

  Petroleum and Mining CS John Munyes tours the Kisumu Oil Jetty Project.The Project will open up the Lake Victoria Transport System-Photo By Duncan Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

September 19, 2018.

Sh 1.7 Billion Oil Jetty in Kisumu to Open up Lake Victoria Transport System.

THE Lake Victoria Transport System will open up after completion of the shs 1.7 billion oil jetty, Petroleum and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes has said.

The CS says the facility which has been completed will open up Lake Victoria transport system and decongest roads.

Speaking in Kisumu during the tour of the project, Munyes said a team from the ministry shall visit Entebbe and Jinja in Uganda where similar projects are being undertaken to determine when to start operations at the Kisumu jetty.

He says their counterparts in Uganda have been a bit slow but he is satisfied with the work done so far in Kisumu as far as the issue of the new oil jetty is concerned.

 “I’m happy to report that we are ready to start operations at this jetty in Kisumu,” Munyes says.

The Cabinet Secretary says once fully operational, the Kisumu Oil Jetty which is a Vision 2030 flagship project shall see about 470 million liters of petrol, diesel and jet fuel transported through Lake Victoria to Uganda on a daily basis.

He has assures that Safety measures have been put in place to ensure there will be no spillage at the jetty and within the lake Victoria which is the World’s second largest fresh water lake.

“This facility has been fitted with state of the art modern equipment to ensure that we go about our operations without endangering the environment,” Munyes says.

The government, he says targets to recover the Sh. 1.7 billion spent on the project from operation charges within the next three years.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) has launched investigations to unearth circumstances under which petrol at the Kisumu terminal depot was contaminated with water.

KPC on Monday this week recalled 15 tracks that had collected the adulterated petrol from the depot after the merchants detected traces of water in the product.

Petroleum and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes says the investigating team shall release a comprehensive report on the matter in two weeks’ time.

“At the moment we cannot say exactly what happened but I want to assure Kenyans that if it was due to laxity from our staff then disciplinary action shall be taken immediately to prevent a similar occurrence in future,” the cabinet secretary says.

All KPC depots, he says have been put on high alert to properly drain all the tanks to ensure that the products are not contaminated.

 Munyes says that KPC has not incurred any losses as a result of the incident, adding that the recalled petrol shall be separated and sold.

He assured Kenyans that all products from KPC were depots were safe adding that the affected product was not consumed.

He says the incident is the second one to occur, adding that first time was in the year 1994.

 We are learning from these experiences to ensure that we maintain the set standards,” he says.

KPC Managing Director Joe Sang who accompanied the Cabinet Secretary said the corporation plans to invest in a leak system to that will aide in detecting any infiltration into the pipeline system to ensure that the quality of products in maintained.

“The leak detection system shall oversee all our installations across the country and detect any leakage or interference for immediate action,” Sang says.

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