After horrific accident, Kenya Pipeline Co. floats tender for design of new pipeline

NAIROBI - The Kenya Pipeline Co. (KPC) is seeking experts to design and build a new pipeline weeks after an oil leak caused a fire in a Nairobi slum that killed more than 100 people.

KPC on Oct. 10 floated an international tender for the new pipeline to replace the dilapidated one to increase capacity and meet growing demand.

In the tender notice, KPC is inviting proposals for preliminary and detailed design and environmental and social assessment services for a section of its fuel pipeline between Mombasa and Nairobi.

Though the actual cost of the project will be known after the design, the energy ministry said it is expected to cost about Sh30 billion.

“The selected consultant shall design and supervise the construction of the new pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi. The pipeline shall suit projected demand up to year 2044,” the tender advertisement read in part.

The 14-inch pipeline linking Mombasa to Nairobi has outlived its 30-year lifespan and is prone to ruptures.

KPC’s network runs from Mombasa to the town of Nakuru in the west, then branches to Eldoret and Kisumu.

Kenya had hoped to extend the pipeline past Eldoret into Uganda. But this has stalled because Uganda says it wants to build a refinery to process its recently discovered oil.

Kenya has completed construction of a new 325-km. fuel pipeline from Nairobi to Eldoret that will nearly double supplies to the Rift Valley town. The new pipeline is still undergoing tests.