“The company also plans to venture into Myanmar and Kenya in East Africa to supply LPG,” report quoted LAUGFS Gas PLC Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya speaking to reporters.

 “Mombasa is a gateway to other landlocked East African countries. We are exploring venturing into Mombasa as well. Initially we want to supply in bulk.” Mr Wegapitiya had told adding that the Kenya entry will take place after the call for commercial operations of its newly constructed LPG storage plant at Bangladeshi port, and the Hambantota Terminal.

Reports pointed out that LAUGFS has risen to be a dominant player in Bangladesh’s energy sector since it ventured into the country a few years ago and it seeks to replicate similar success in Kenya. According to reports private companies have been angling to benefit from growing use of cooking gas in Kenya in the absence of investments by the government via import and storage facilities.

Last year, Mansa East Africa had sought the National Environmental Management Authority's (NEMA) green light to construct a facility to handle 10,000 tonnes of LPG. This was the second firm to seek Nema’s nod to build such as facility in Mombasa in 2018 after the Mombasa Gas Terminal (MGT) which plans to put up a LPG handling facility. Report from Business Daily also noted that there are limited LPG handling facilities in Kenya which has exposed the market to supply shocks and stunted the growth of cooking gas consumption.

Cooking gas imports in Kenya has risen by 39.2% in the first three quarters of 2018 to stand at 70,574 tonnes following the ban on logging. Report said that the embargo effected last February by Environment secretary Keriako Tobiko has disrupted availability of sawdust, charcoal and wood fuel — sourced from government forests — forcing Kenyans to use cooking gas for domestic and commercial purposes.