By Phiwa Sikhondze
The Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC) has announced that it will soon commence the construction of the 80 million litre capacity Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility at Phuzamoya, kaMkhweli Chiefdom under Siphofaneni Inkhundla.
The Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility is meant to ensure petroleum supply security in the country and will hold enough fuel to sustain the country for 60 days. The Reserve will be fully operated by the ENPC.
The confirmation was made yesterday by the ENPC CEO, Nhlanhla Dlamini, during a donation ceremony to the young girls of kaMkhweli Chiefdom, who received sanitary pads as part of the company’s corporate social investment programme.
The project was officially blessed by His Majesty King Mswati III when he cut the sod back in 2013.
The CEO noted that the construction of the Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility was part of the company’s mandate to improve access to petroleum products across all the regions of the country.
He added that the facility would also enhance the country’s resilience to external shocks and disruptions in the petroleum market. He said that the ENPC would embark on the distribution of petroleum products, and hoped that the nation would support the project.
The CEO further appreciated the patience and cooperation the community has demonstrated over the years while the company has been working on the logistics of getting the project up and running. He said that the company is in the advanced stages of getting started with the project.
The kaMkhweli Chiefdom Indvuna Yemphakatsi, Tikhontele Ngcamphalala, expressed his excitement over the announcement by the ENPC. He said that this announcement has brought back lost hope over the project as he mentioned that they were losing hope that the project will ever be a success, considering the number of years since the sod was cut.
Ngcamphalala further appealed for the employment of people from the chiefdom when the project commences.