The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on Wednesday inaugurated a Tanker Parking Terminal at Kpone in the Greater Accra region. The construction of the parking terminal was a demonstration of the Authority’s commitment to improving standards in the petroleum downstream industry. The investment according to 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 almost 1000 tankers at a go and also has office spaces and resting rooms for drivers. The TOR Managing Director, Isaac Osei at the inauguration of the terminal read a speech on behalf of the Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu. He 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.” The Minister 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 government will ensure the regular supply of petroleum products to all parts of the country “through a cost-effective and 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.