Trouble for idle Sh2bn Kisumu jetty

An aerial view of Lake Victoria showing the newly refurbished Kisumu Port (front) and Kisumu Oil Jetty (back). PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NMG

By EDWIN OKOTH
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Summary

• The Kisumu jetty, which has remained idle since February 2018, can only function once the Uganda facility is ready to allow evacuation of oil from tankers arriving from Kenya via Lake Victoria.
• Now, Auditor General Nancy Gathugu said KPC will need to cut the value of the jetty in its books, arguing that it may not find use in coming months.

Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) may be forced to devalue the newly-built Sh2 billion Kisumu oil jetty due to uncertainty over its use following delays by Uganda to construct its side of the docking facilities, the Auditor General has warned.

The Kisumu jetty, which has remained idle since February 2018, can only function once the Uganda facility is ready to allow evacuation of oil from tankers arriving from Kenya via Lake Victoria.

Now, Auditor General Nancy Gathugu said KPC will need to cut the value of the jetty in its books, arguing that it may not find use in coming months.

KPC is losing millions of shillings in potential revenue due to the delayed construction of the Uganda facility.

“Further delay in operationalisation of the project may require the Kisumu Jetty assets to be assessed for impairment of their book values,” said Ms Gathungu.

“Although the management have indicated that some progress has been made in construction of one of the two planned similar jetties in Uganda, there is no certainty when these will be completed and operationalised. Therefore, the country is not deriving any value from the use of the jetty.”

An asset is impaired when its market value is less than the value listed on the company's balance sheet.

The firm had already depreciated the jetty by Sh158 million a year after it was completed and left idle, leaving KPC to rely on a slower and less capacity tankers to ship fuel to Uganda through a rail wagon ship.

The Ugandan jetty and storage tanks are now 36 months behind schedule.

It is estimated that the Ugandan part of the project will cost Sh27 billion and will have an oil jetty, fuel tankers and storage tanks.