New fuel depot for Grootfontein
Engen’s new fuel depot in Grootfontein was commissioned during April after the final construction work was completed in March. The new depot receives fuel from Walvis Bay and then distributes downstream to all the northern regions.
The new facility, which complies with the company’s stringent health, safety and environmental standards, was completed in March 2015, with Engen taking occupation in April, according to Nangula Hamunyela, managing director of Engen Namibia.
Hamunyela said an official inauguration ceremony will be held in June 2015, to which the Minister of Mines and Energy, Regional Governor of the Otjozondupa Region, the Grootfontein Mayor, the town CEO, Regional and Local councillors and other dignitaries will be invited.
Engen has long sought self-sufficiency in terms of the supply of its products to the northern part of the country according to Hamunyela.
“With capacity for products including ULP 95, ADO 500 and ADO 50ppm, the company’s new depot will bolster its supply chain, she said. “Independence enables us to provide a better service to our customers and allows us to be more competitive in the market.”
Added Hamunyela, “Engen now brings its entire product line into the country. The company sports an extensive network of 54 retail service stations, covering the length and breadth of the country.”
Grootfontein was selected as the site for the new depot to ensure Engen fully optimised its supply chain. Fuel and lubricants coming into the country is supplied via the main terminal at Walvis Bay, by rail and road. An existing depot specifically caters for road deliveries, and Engen also has a commercial facility for direct delivery to industrial customers, on a 24-hour basis.
Hamunyela said the Grootfontein facility will supply the whole of northern Namibia and confirmed that Engen will build another new depot in the region that is expected to come on stream in 2016.
