Tanzania is witnessing a burgeoning shift towards Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a viable alternative to traditional fuels like petrol and diesel, mirroring trends seen in countries like Nigeria. This transition is driven by CNG’s environmental benefits and its cost-effectiveness, which is particularly appealing to the approximately 5,000 vehicle owners in Tanzania who have made the switch, with a notable presence among commercial drivers.
Although only a small segment of Tanzania’s vast vehicle population has adopted CNG, these pioneers are setting the stage for broader acceptance. The government’s ambitious goal is to achieve near-universal CNG usage by mid-century, leveraging the nation’s substantial undersea gas reserves. For users, CNG presents a significant economic advantage, costing less than half of what petrol would.
Take for instance, Samuel Amos Irube, a taxi owner who invested around 1.5 million Tanzanian shillings ($620; £495) to convert his three-wheeled vehicle, or ‘bajaji’, to run on CNG. The financial incentive was clear, but the practical challenge of refueling has become a bottleneck. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s bustling economic center, there are merely four CNG stations, leading to considerable wait times. Irube, like many others, finds himself spending more time queuing than driving, often waiting over three hours to refuel, yet he considers it worthwhile due to the savings, spending only 40% of what he would on petrol.
At the Ubungo CNG station, the scene is one of organized patience, with three distinct lines for different vehicle types, yet the underlying frustration is evident. Medadi Kichungo Ngoma, who has been waiting for two hours in his silver pick-up truck, exemplifies the common experience of many CNG users in Tanzania.
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