Rostam Aziz cleared to build $124m Mombasa LPG terminal

Tanzania’s billionaire Rostam Aziz has secured a legal victory in Kenya, as the High Court cleared the way for his $124 million LPG terminal at Mombasa port. The ruling lifts all restrictions on construction, allowing Taifa Gas to move forward with its 30,000-tonne liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility in the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone.

This approval is a big step forward for Aziz, East Africa’s first dollar billionaire, and it also means that Kenya’s LPG market, which has been controlled by local energy tycoon Mohamed Jaffer for a long time, is changing.  Once it is up and running, the terminal should increase LPG imports, make competition stronger, and improve the region’s clean energy infrastructure.

Court dismisses environmental petitions

The Environment and Land Court (ELC) struck out a petition filed by two Likoni residents seeking to halt the project over environmental concerns. Their claims had briefly paused progress on the terminal.

The court said the concerns raised, including damage to plants, coral outcrops, water quality, and nearby fishing areas, had already been examined by the National Environmental Tribunal. The judge added that the petitioners took the wrong route. 

Any dispute over an Environmental Impact Assessment licence, the court said, should be brought before the tribunal, not through a constitutional case. “There is no basis upon which to fault the process undertaken by the respondent and approvals obtained in respect of their LPG project,” the court stated.

Competition heats up in Kenya’s energy sector

The terminal is expected to disrupt Kenya’s LPG market, introduce new pricing dynamics, enhance supply chains, and create opportunities for consumers in a market historically controlled by Mohamed Jaffer’s companies.

With the court’s approval, construction can move forward without any legal problems, which strengthens regulatory approvals and ends any doubt. The project also signals growing investor confidence in East Africa’s energy sector, particularly in strategic coastal hubs such as Mombasa.

Kenya’s energy sector clears a major hurdle

Rostam Aziz, the first Tanzanian ever listed by Forbes as a world billionaire, known for his long run in East Africa’s energy and telecom markets, has been expanding his footprint across the region for years. Through Taifa Gas, he has built storage and distribution networks in Tanzania and Rwanda, giving the company a strong position in the LPG trade.

With the Mombasa project now back on track after the High Court dismissed a petition that had stalled work on the site, the terminal is expected to ease supply pressures, widen import capacity, and open the field to more competition in a market long dominated by a handful of players. Aziz is counting on the facility’s 30,000-ton storage capacity to help draw more LPG into the country and cut reliance on older, congested infrastructure.