KPC Needs Over Shs10 Billion for Investment

By Godfrey Tung'wet Posted 29 June 2006 @ 03:22 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

NAIROBI (IBTimes.com) - Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) needs Kshs10.6 billion in the next five years to improve its infrastructure, managing director George Okungu has said."This substantial sum requires careful planning."said the MD.

He announced that KPC would plan for and reserve cash to finance investment in infrastructure upgrade. However, the MD said the company immediately needs Sh2.5 billion to meet the current demand for petroleum products.

He also noted that the company had settled all its offshore and local financial obligations and was now building its own funds to finance massive equipment overhaul and upgrade.

The vibrant economic activity in Kenya and its neighbouring countries has pushed up petroleum demand from 2.8 billion litres to 3.5 billion litres. To unplug this problem, Kenya announced a crash programme through installation of booster pumps to double current flow from 440,000 litres per hour to 880,000 litres per hour in May 2008.

Okungu was speaking at the company’s National Bank house offices when he presented a cheque of Sh339 million to the Kenya Revenue Authority for income tax.

The sum was a top up to an earlier payment of Sh339 million, bringing the total payout to KRA to Sh1 billion. Okungu was accompanied by KPC chairman Mwanyengela Ngali who said yesterday’s payments has enabled the corporation become tax compliant after 13-years."KPC has now filed all tax returns for the period 1992 to 2005 and paid the KRA Sh7,100,903,624 in settlement of all principal taxes for the period," said Ngali.

Okungu said the firm had set up an in house tax unit under the supervision of audit firm, PriceWarterHouseCoopers, to ensure continued compliance.