When Nigerian energy company Asharami Synergy breaks ground on a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in Mombasa later this year, the event will represent more than another infrastructure investment.
The project could become one of the most significant developments in Kenya’s cooking gas market in more than a decade, testing whether expanded storage capacity can unlock cheaper, more reliable and cleaner household energy.
The terminal and Kenya’s clean cooking strategy.
The planned 30,000-metric-tonne Asharami LPG terminal, to be built at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) site in Changamwe, comes as Kenya seeks to accelerate the transition away from charcoal, firewood and kerosene.
The government has repeatedly identified LPG as a cornerstone of its clean cooking strategy, aiming to increase household adoption from roughly 15% to 70% over the coming years.
That ambition, however, depends on far more than encouraging consumers to switch fuels. For years, Kenya’s LPG market has been constrained by limited import and storage capacity. Most marketers have relied on relatively small shipments, increasing transport costs and limiting their ability to take advantage of lower international prices. The result has been a market that remains vulnerable to supply disruptions and price volatility.
Asharami’s planned investment, estimated at about KSh4.6 billion (USD3million), seeks to address one of those structural bottlenecks.
A larger storage facility allows importers to receive bigger cargoes, spread logistics costs over greater volumes and maintain larger inventories during periods of global market uncertainty. While this does not automatically translate into lower retail prices, it creates conditions that can improve supply stability and encourage greater competition among distributors.
For consumers, the benefits could be significant, but not immediate since cooking gas prices in Kenya are influenced by a combination of international LPG prices, shipping costs, exchange rates, taxes, cylinder availability and transport expenses.
Even if storage capacity expands substantially, households are unlikely to experience meaningful price reductions unless these other factors also remain favourable.
That explains why infrastructure should be viewed as only one piece of Kenya’s broader energy transition.
KPRL’s evolution and the rise of private investment.
The Asharami project also reflects the changing role of KPRL. Once East Africa’s only oil refinery, the Mombasa facility has steadily evolved into a strategic petroleum logistics hub since refining operations ended in 2013. Rather than attempting to revive refining, successive governments have increasingly focused on transforming the site into a centre for fuel storage, imports and distribution.
The proposed LPG terminal fits naturally into that strategy.
Beyond domestic demand, Kenya also hopes to strengthen its position as a regional energy gateway. Mombasa already serves neighbouring countries including Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. As regional demand for cleaner cooking fuels rises, larger storage facilities could improve Kenya’s competitiveness as an energy logistics hub.
The project also highlights another important shift in government policy: the growing reliance on private investment to finance strategic infrastructure.
With public finances under pressure, Kenya has increasingly sought private sector participation in sectors traditionally dominated by state-owned enterprises. Such partnerships can reduce fiscal pressure while accelerating project delivery, particularly where governments face competing budget priorities.
Procurement questions and the outcomes that matter.
Yet the Asharami investment has also generated debate. Questions have emerged because the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) had previously advanced plans for a similar LPG storage project at the same location.
Publicly available information indicates KPC had already completed feasibility studies, engineering work and environmental assessments, spending about KSh192.6 million before the project ultimately shifted to Asharami.
That transition has prompted scrutiny over procurement processes and whether the government obtained the best value while maintaining transparency.
Those concerns extend beyond a single infrastructure project. Energy investors generally seek predictable regulatory environments where procurement decisions are transparent and contractual arrangements remain stable. Kenya’s ability to attract future private investment into strategic infrastructure will depend not only on commercial opportunities but also on confidence in governance and policy consistency.
Even if the terminal is completed on schedule before the end of 2028, its success will ultimately be measured by outcomes rather than construction milestones.
Will LPG become affordable for lower-income households? Will supply interruptions become less frequent? Will greater competition emerge among marketers? And will Kenya move significantly closer to its ambitious clean cooking targets?
The answers will depend on complementary reforms that extend beyond storage tanks. Expanding cylinder distribution networks, improving transport infrastructure, maintaining competitive markets and ensuring stable regulatory policies will all be essential if consumers are to benefit from the additional capacity.
In many respects, the Asharami terminal represents a microcosm of Kenya’s wider energy transition. Infrastructure can create opportunities, but markets determine outcomes.
If the investment succeeds, it could strengthen Kenya’s energy security, support cleaner household fuel use and reinforce Mombasa’s role as East Africa’s petroleum logistics hub. If broader market reforms fail to keep pace, however, the terminal risks becoming an important asset whose full economic and social potential remains unrealised.
For Kenya, the project is therefore not simply about constructing another LPG terminal. It is about whether strategic infrastructure, backed by private capital and effective public policy, can finally deliver a cooking gas market that is more affordable, more competitive and more resilient.
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