The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is ready to commence construction of a new pipeline after the signing of a US$489m contract between them and a Lebanese contractor, Zakhem International.
The contract signed will see Zakhem International construct a 20 inch pipeline and 96 core Fiber Optic cables along the Right of Way of KPC, from Mombasa to Nairobi.
KPC’s Managing Director Charles Tanui indicated that he has full confidence that Zakhem International will be able to meet the 18 month deadline set for the completion of the project. He also said that the project is aimed at realizing the Mombasa Port Community charter signed on Monday with other stakeholders to create capacity for handling transporting, storing and transferring petroleum products.
Zakhem International was the contractor for the initial pipeline in 1973, and Zakhem’s Managing Director Mr. Ibrahim Zakhem is confident that they will have delivered even better results once the project is completed.
The project will be executed by Zakhem International under the consultancy of Shengli Engineering and Consulting Company of China.
The green light for the construction of the new pipeline comes as the High court and the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) vindicated KPC from any malpractice in the process of awarding the tender. This comes after some of the bidders, China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation, Kalpataru Power Transmission and China WuYi Company Limited, had challenged the tendering process.
