The Sahara Group has reiterated the need for investment in infrastructure and development towards collaboration among stakeholders to boost the adoption of clean cooking solutions in Africa.
The group made this advocacy at the just concluded summit on clean cooking in Africa, organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, stating that there is limited storage infrastructure to support the growing demand for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Africa, making the region reliant on imports and shipping.
CITAC estimates that by 2035, the demand for LPG in the sub-Saharan region will almost triple compared to current levels. According to the World Bank, regional economic blocs on the continent have set ambitious targets for LPG penetration and consumption to drive almost exclusive LPG deployment for cooking by 2030.
Head, Business Development (Gas), Sahara Group, Ijeoma Isichei, called for more investment through industry-led expansion programmes, support from developed economies, and well-established Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
She stressed that adequate infrastructure for cooking gas is a huge challenge in ramping up clean cooking across Africa, emphasising that PPPs and alignment of LPG policies across the continent would increase affordability and environmental sustainability.
She said: “I propose more public and private partnerships. A clear example would be the partnership between Sahara Group and Petroci, Côte d’Ivoire’s national oil and gas company, towards the construction of 12,000MT LPG storage facilities in Côte d’Ivoire.
All of this is being achieved with collaborations across the government and private sectors, with support from development agencies, WAGL Energy Limited and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).”
