Tanzania in call for bids for CNG points across the country
Monday July 29 2019
Tanzania buys bulk CNG for stations and in future will be extended to locations where the stations will be built if the location will be in proximity to the current pipeline infrastructure. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation is calling for investors in compressed natural gas (CNG) to establish fuelling stations for vehicles.
The corporation is planning two large stations in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam to support trucking supply of CNG to retail stations located far from the pipeline infrastructure.
“This is an opportunity for other participants in the natural gas value chain to buy CNG from TPDC at wholesale price to resell to end-users specifically vehicle owners,” TPDC said last week while inviting expressions of interest.
“This is to enable scaling up of the gas utilisation potential in the transport sector by replacing costly and environmentally unfriendly diesel and petrol which are wholly imported.”
The tender is open from July 19 to August 19, 2019.
Tanzania buys bulk CNG for stations and in future will be extended to locations where the stations will be built if the location will be in proximity to the current pipeline infrastructure.
The country supplies compressed natural gas for the transport sector and piped natural gas for the domestic, commercial and industrial sector.
Currently, TPDC is developing gas supply infrastructures in Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Coast Regions. And the CNG plants at Ubungo for vehicles using both natural gas and normal gasoline. “The use of natural gas is further decreasing air pollution and curbed diseases caused by the use of charcoal.
For automobiles, CNG is cheaper and more eco-friendly than diesel or gasoline systems,” said TPDC.
According to available data, around 100,000 hectares of forests are lost per year as many Tanzanians are heavily dependent on biomass.
It was reported recently that after completion of the construction of the 542-kilometre gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam TPDC now plans to put up a $150-$200 million mega plant to facilitate the transportation of natural gas to large-scale industries and households.
Tanzania has been exploring for natural gas for more than 50 years.