Taifa Gas, the liquefied petroleum gas company owned by Tanzania’s first dollar billionaire, Rostam Aziz, is nearing completion of its Ksh16 billion ($124 million) import terminal in Mombasa, bringing one of East Africa’s biggest energy infrastructure projects closer to commercial operations. The latest progress offers fresh clarity after earlier expectations that the facility would begin operating around March or April, following reports that construction had reached about 80 percent completion in January.

Located within the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, the terminal is expected to reshape Kenya’s liquefied petroleum gas import market by introducing a third large-scale import facility into a business long dominated by two operators. Developed by Taifa Gas Investments SEZ Limited, the project will have storage capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes across 12 spherical tanks on a 30-acre site near the Port of Mombasa, with room for future expansion to 45,000 tonnes. The facility is designed to handle bulk LPG imports, storage and distribution to Kenya and neighboring markets.

Its size stands out against Kenya’s existing storage network. According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the country’s installed LPG storage capacity stood at 44,430 metric tonnes in March 2025, with the regulator identifying LPG as the petroleum product requiring the greatest expansion in storage infrastructure. Taifa Gas’ initial capacity alone amounts to nearly two-thirds of Kenya’s installed storage capacity at that time, underscoring the scale of the investment.

Billionaire-backed LPG plant challenges Kenyan market

The project also comes as Kenya’s LPG import market remains heavily concentrated. Between July and December 2025, about 208 million kilograms of LPG entered the country through the AGOL jetty, while 22 million kilograms arrived through the Lake Gas jetty. Together, the two facilities handled all recorded LPG imports during the six-month period, accounting for roughly 90 percent and 10 percent of volumes, respectively. Once operational, the Taifa Gas terminal will provide an additional import route into a market that has seen limited competition for years.

Construction of the Mombasa terminal began in 2023 but was delayed by compensation and resettlement disputes involving affected residents. Work resumed after those issues were resolved in late 2025. The development also faced legal challenges over alleged environmental concerns, including claims involving coral disruption and insufficient community consultation.

A Kenyan court ultimately upheld the project in 2025, allowing construction to move forward. President William Ruto, who has made wider household access to cooking gas a government priority, commissioned the project in 2023 and has described it as the largest private foreign direct investment in Kenya in decades. Its completion is expected to introduce the first significant new competition in the country’s LPG import business in years.

Taifa Group expands East African energy footprint

The investment reflects the continued expansion of Rostam Aziz’s energy interests across East Africa. Aziz, 62, chairs Taifa Group, whose flagship business, Taifa Gas, ranks among the region’s largest LPG distributors, with operations spanning Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Zambia. Forbes recognized him as Tanzania’s first dollar billionaire in 2013. Aziz built much of his fortune through telecommunications. He helped establish Vodacom Tanzania as the country’s leading mobile operator before gradually exiting the business, selling a 17.2 percent stake to South Africa’s Vodacom Group for $250 million in 2014 and disposing of his remaining holding for $220 million in 2019 through his investment vehicle, Mirambo Holdings.

The businessman, who represented Igunga in Tanzania’s parliament from 1994 until his resignation in 2011, has since expanded across several industries. His portfolio now includes mining through Caspian Mining, aviation, leather manufacturing and real estate investments in Tanzania, Dubai and Oman. Earlier this year, he also strengthened his presence in the media sector when Taarifa Limited agreed to acquire the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development’s controlling stake in Nairobi-listed Nation Media Group, bringing to a close a partnership that had lasted since 1959.

His investments in the energy sector have continued to expand. In April, Taifa Gas agreed to acquire a 49 percent stake in PanAfrican Energy Tanzania, a transaction that changed the ownership structure of the Songo Songo gas field following the exit of Toronto-listed Orca Exploration Group, which had operated the asset since 2001. Under the deal, Amber Energy Investment acquired a 51 percent stake, while Taifa Gas took the remaining 49 percent. The transaction reshaped ownership of one of Tanzania’s most important natural gas assets, which supplies fuel for power generation, industrial customers, and the country’s broader energy needs.