Feruka pipeline project nears completion
Story by John Nhandara
THE National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe (NOIC) is set to increase its petroleum volume output to three billion litres this year, as the upgrade of the Feruka pipeline nears completion.
The upgrade of the Feruka pipeline is on course and expected to be complete during the first quarter of the year as NOIC works on increasing output to three billion litres from an average of two billion litres per annum.
“The capacity upgrade of the main pipeline is now at 70 per cent with the main pumps having been manufactured and on their way into the country. We expect that at the end of the first quarter, the upgrade will have been completed. We are racing against time because our partners in Mozambique CPMZ have already completed their upgrade and are pumping at increased capacity which we are now receiving,” said NOIC board chairperson, Air Vice Marshal (Rtd) Innocent Chiganze.
NOIC is also undertaking various projects to attract more petroleum volumes into the country through pipelines after surpassing the two billion litre mark for 2023.
NOIC CEO, Wilfred Matukeni said, “2022 was a record in terms of the pumping where we did pump about 1,9 billion. In 2023 was much better. We passed the 2 billion litre mark. We expect more to happen. We expect to handle about 3 billion litres. We also have a project named Project Colbart which will attract more volumes into the hinterland so we expect 2024 will be much better.”
Meanwhile, NOIC has declared a dividend of just over one million United States dollars to the Mutapa Investment Fund after a successful trading year.
The dividend was declared recently during the parastatal’s Annual General Meeting in the capital.
“We are excited to receive a dividend from NOIC. It is important because Mutapa Investment Fund is a generational fund that looks at the current and future generations. It’s a sovereign wealth fund that must have long-term stabilisation of the economy in having macroeconomic stability under the funds invested in Mutapa. So this should be the building block for the stability of enterprises under Mutapa Investment Fund,” said Mutapa Investment Fund CEO, Dr. John Mangudya.
NOIC is part of 22 parastatals that were put under the Mutapa Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth trust established to support national development objectives.
