Anglo African Agriculture confirms soft opening of Comarco LPG facility

(Sharecast News) - Anglo African Agriculture announced on Tuesday that a soft opening had taken place at the new 11,000 metric tonne LPG import and storage facility at the privately-owned Comarco port in Kenya.The London-listed firm had confirmed the advancement of a $1m loan to the privately-owned, Kenyan-based port and marine logistics company Comarco Group in November.It had said that the first phase of the Mansa East Africa Terminal - a development project owned by international LPG trading and transportation company Petredec Group and its local Kenyan partner Rift Gas - would be an 11,000 metric tonnes LPG import and storage facility in Mombasa, Kenya, constructed on the Comarco port."This state-of-the-art mounded LPG terminal will be supplied by a floating storage vessel moored at Comarco's port," the Anglo African board said in its statement."Benefitting from Petredec's worldwide presence and Rift Gas' Kenyan roots, Mansa's LPG terminal is the gateway for competitively-priced LPG to flow into an integrated network of distribution depots and supply points across East Africa."By early 2020, "reliable and timely" deliveries of gas from Petredec - the world's largest independent LPG trader - would arrive in Mombasa, which Anglo African said would provide Kenya and the region with a "safe [and] cost effective" energy solution.Petredec would invest more than KES 5bn (£38m) into the LPG terminal and regional downstream assets, with the facility to comprise four 250 metric tonne tanks and a floating vessel in the first phase."One of Anglo African Agriculture's primary reasons for becoming involved with Comarco is based on the Company's belief that ports are long-term growth assets and this particular port is of considerable strategic importance to East Africa," said non-executive chairman David Lenigas."We believe that the construction of this LPG facility adds further weight to this view."In addition to Petredec's large financial commitment to the LPG facility and their belief that Mombasa is a strategic access point into East Africa, major oil and gas companies continue to develop their substantial new offshore discoveries along the coast of East Africa further providing additional port and marine logistics opportunities for the Comarco Group."