Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has pledged to launch the new oil pipeline by April 2017 to ease the flow of petroleum products in the country, informed Business Daily.

KPC’s Managing Director, Joe Sang, said the overall project completion is at 68% while construction of the actual pipeline is 90% complete, reported MediaMax.

The focus now is on construction and installation of equipment at the new pump stations. The 450km 20-inch diameter Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline is a Vision 2030 flagship project to replace the current 38-year-old Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline.

The installed flow rate for Phase One is 1m liters/hour by 2017, Phase Two is 1.9m liters/hour by 2023, and Phase Three will be 2.6m liters/hour by 2044.

Sang said the constructor, Zakhem International, is on schedule to deliver a high quality and safe pipeline for Kenya and the region.

He added: “With a one million litres per hour flow rate, the line will remove about 700 trucks from the road daily at maximum utilization.”