The Sh16 billion cooking gas plant project by Taifa Gas Investments SEZ Limited is taking shape in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa County and is scheduled to be completed by March this year.
The plant, owned by Tanzanian billionaire investor Rosterm Azizi, which had stalled due to compensation and resettlement challenges involving project affected persons on the 3,000-acre piece of land, was cleared in October last year, giving it the green light to proceed. It is now 80 percent complete It will be the first major investment in the Dongo Kundu SEZ.
Expected to employ at least 120 people in its first phase, the Taifa Gas project construction was launched in 2023 by President William Ruto, but legal battles between a section of locals and the investor delayed progress until late last year, when a court cleared the case.
Afterwards, there was little progress as a section of residents protested the cutting of trees and raised other environmental concerns, especially in the marine environment, seeking court orders to stop the development. This persisted until last year, when the High Court in Mombasa struck out the petition.
According to Taifa Gas Investments site manager Anthony Musyoka, the LPG bulk storage facility project is in its final phase. Speaking while government officials were on a tour of the facility to assess the project, Mr Musyoka said 12 mega spherical tanks are in their final stages of construction for gas storage at the 30-acre piece of land in Mombasa County.
"The plant will be responsible for both storage and distribution of 30,000 tonnes of LPG and could expand up to 45,000 tonnes, making it the largest LPG terminal in the region,” said Musyoka.
Taifa Gas is expected to increase competition following start of operations at Lake Gas in Kilifi last year, bringing the number of those supplying bulk gas to three. This is also expected to eat into the dominance of African Gas and Oil Company.
AGOL, owned by Mombasa tycoon Mohammed Jaffer, has been handling up to 90 percent of imported volumes, with a 10,000-tonne storage facility in Mombasa.
Lake Gas, owned by Tanzanian tycoon Ally Edha Awadh, started handling imported cooking gas at its Kilifi facility in mid-2025 but has faced operational challenges due to recurrent court cases. Despite this, it has managed to claw back two percent of the market and intends to expand its project by 15,000 tonnes, which will bring its total capacity to 30,000 tonnes.
Mr Awadh’s Lake Gas company was the latest to receive a green light to expand its cooking gas business after a court upheld the validity of the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence.
Investment Promotion Principal Secretary Abubakar Hassan, who was accompanied by Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) Chief Executive Officer Ken Chelule, said the increase in gas storage will lead to a drop in cooking gas prices.
“The problem we have as a country is storage. Kenya currently has 35,000 tonnes of LPG storage despite the rising demand. We are doubling the storage capacity of gas, which will greatly reduce the price to the consumer,” Hassan said.
He explained that one of the contributors to high consumer prices is the lack of storage capacity.
“But when the supply is high, the demand will reduce. At the same time, when the volume is high at the source, the price will be lower,” he added.
Mr Chelule said more than 100 investors have shown interest in Dongo Kundu and that the government is also investing in infrastructure, including a multipurpose berth specifically for the zone.
“This is the anchor tenant that we hope to see project progress. We also hope their investment will translate to savings in terms of family-friendly levels of the cost of gas,” he said.
“The berth construction is underway with contractors on site, road construction is ongoing, and electricity connections will be coming up soon. This is becoming a premium zone with close to 100 investors showing interest.”
Mr Chelule revealed that a foreign bank, a pharmaceutical firm, and a glass-making firm are in the final licensing stages to also set up operations in the area.
