ZIMBABWE Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) has said the liberalisation of the petroleum industry has led to a significant growth in the country's fuel market, with the coming into effect of the Statutory Instrument on containerised fuel going to spare rural and remote areas.
According to Zera, a containerised or portable service station is a complete, self-contained fuel storage and dispensing unit built inside a standard shipping container.
The storage tanks are above ground and the shipping container provides secondary containment.
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They are also called portable fuel stations because the container installation can be transported on a low-bed trailer as and when necessary.
Zera said containerised fuel retail facilities are flexible and relatively cheap to deploy and redeploy.
"The liberalisation of the petroleum industry has led to significant growth in Zimbabwe's fuel market.
However, this expansion has largely been concentrated in urban centres, leaving many rural and remote areas with little to no presence of conventional fuel stations," said the authority in a statement.
"As a result, residents, including business people, farmers, civil servants, and NGO workers, had to travel long distances to access fuel, leading to higher transportation costs, reduced productivity, and limited economic activity in these communities.
"To address this disparity, the Government has adopted a new standard for the establishment of containerised/portable, and low-cost fuel retail stations aimed at increasing fuel accessibility in under-served areas."
These modular stations will provide safe, efficient, and equitable access to fuel across the country.
Due to the prohibitive construction costs of traditional fuel infrastructure, many remote rural areas have been overlooked by mainstream investors.
The introduction of the containerised stations, which are significantly cheaper and quicker to deploy, presents a more economically viable solution.
Zera said these stations will not only improve access to fuel for agricultural machinery, small-scale mining, and cottage industries but also help stimulate local economic development.
"Their presence is expected to encourage the growth of complementary small businesses, creating mini-economic hubs and enhancing social services in rural communities," reads the statement.
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Identify a suitable piece of land and get land use approval from the relevant rural authority.
To establish containerised, portable and low-cost fuel retail outlets to service rural areas dovetails with the thrust of the Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, of leaving no place and no one behind.
In July, the Minister of Energy and Power Development, after consultation with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, has, in terms of section 57 as read with section 4 of the Petroleum Act (Chapter 13:22), adopted the Zimbabwe Standard for Requirements and Guidance for Establishing Containerised/Portable Fuel Retail Stations in Rural and Remote Areas: Zimbabwe Standard No. 1119:2024 with immediate effect.
The Standard provides a framework for the design, construction, and approval of low-cost but safe fuel facilities in rural and remote areas that are fuel-deficient.
The framework will facilitate the implementation of the Fuel Distribution Nodal System outlined in the National Development Strategy 1 as a strategy to ensure that under-serviced areas have improved access to safe fuel filling stations.
