March 31, 2023. Coca-Cola Kwanza, a Tanzanian subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, is switching its fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) type, which is clean and cheap energy to cut vehicle running costs and protect the environment.
The company has received its first CNG-powered truck from Scania Tanzania Ltd to help it transition to a more economical and eco-friendly mode of transport.
Driving on gas reduces cost by 12 percent per month when operating 85,000 km per year, and the locally available natural gas is also 20 percent less expensive. Also, the price level is more stable compared to imported diesel.
Scania Tanzania, Business Development Manager, Ms. Eliavera Timoth, said the truck conforms to the cleanest emission norm available, Euro 6, operating on optional gas or biogas.
Apart from being environmentally friendly, she added that gas is obtained more locally. Its usage will create local jobs and help reduce the foreign currencies’ demand while creating further tax revenue streams.
“In Tanzania, most of the investment is already made, with the gas pipe into Dar es Salaam and the mother station in Ubungo in place. Running on CNG is cheaper and will reduce the importation of diesel,” Timoth insisted.
As much as the use of natural gas will cut Coca-Cola Kwanza’s operational costs by 27 percent on every trip to and from Morogoro based on the company’s pilot study, the Logistics Director for Coca-Cola Kwanza, Mr. Haji Mzee, said only two filling stations located at Ubungo and Tazara, a trend that has sometimes been causing long queues.
Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) earlier this month announced that nine natural gas filling stations will be built in the country within the next 24 months as demand increases.
