The pipeline project also includes the construction of an inland storage facility in the area between Nelspruit and Rocky’s Drift.

The project is set to ease diesel shortage in Gauteng with the pipeline and storage facility able to satisfy a large portion of future demands in South Africa via imports from Mozambique. Petroline said that this should relieve the pressure on liquid fuels imports on Durban Harbour and also support fuel imports to Mozambique and other Southern African neighbours.

Petroline has released an Environmental Impact Assessment on the 12 inch diameter pipeline, which was originally expected to have a capacity of 3.5 MMcm/a of fuel. Local news sources have said that the pipeline is being delayed due to overwhelming interest from customers and a potential plan to increase the pipeline’s capacity to 5.9 MMcm/a.

It will run 64 km from Matola to the Mozambique/South Africa border, 135 km from the South Africa border to Nelspruit and 249 km from Nelspruit to Kendal.

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Construction had previously been planned to start in mid-2008 and was scheduled to take 18 months to complete.