The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on Wednesday inaugurated a Tanker Parking Terminal at Kpone in the Greater Accra Region.

The parking terminal is expected to improve the standards in the petroleum downstream industry.

The investment according to the NPA also exhibits its long term commitment to curb safety risk posed by the indiscriminate parking of Tankers (Bulk Road Vehicles) along the road leading to Tema Oil refinery (TOR) and other depots in Tema.

The new state of the art parking terminal can accommodate about 1000 Tanker cars at a go and also has office spaces and resting rooms for drivers.

The Minister of Energy, Mr John Peter Amewu in a speech read on his behalf by the Managing Director of TOR, Mr Isaac Ossei at the inauguration of the terminal said “the parking of Tanker cars, sometimes loaded with petroleum products, along these roads poses a serious Health and Safety risk to life and property. I, therefore, commend the National Petroleum Authority for this laudable project.”

He said the facility will ensure efficiency in the distribution of petroleum products in the country.

Pledging government support to develop petroleum downstream sector, he stated the government will ensure the regular supply of petroleum products to all parts of the country “through a cost-effective and an efficient distribution system”.

The Energy Minister said issues on the rehabilitation of pipelines from Tema to Akosombo, the possibility of a rail line between Tema and Kumasi were all given attention to reducing road transportation of petroleum products

In his address, the Chief Executive of NPA, Hassan Tampuli said the NPA wanted the movement of Tanker cars scheduled to load petroleum products properly regulated.

He noted a number of accidents were born out of fatigue as a result of inadequate rest after a trip, hence “the need to construct the tanker parking terminal to address any unforeseeable occurrences of accidents caused by drivers.”

“We, as stakeholders in the industry and operators of these tankers, therefore, have the responsibility to give members of the public the assurance that we are doing our utmost best to ensure their safety while we carry out our business” He stressed

He assured the Tanker Drivers the NPA would continue to create an enabling environment for the operations of the transportation section of the Petroleum Downstream Industry.