Where the tank demand actually sits in Africa
African storage tank demand concentrates in a few recognisable patterns, and they need different answers. Coastal fuel import terminals at Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Beira, Nacala, Lagos, Onne, Tema and Djibouti take large API 650 tankage close to the berth. Up-country depots feeding landlocked markets — Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, the DRC Copperbelt — need smaller tanks moved a long way inland over difficult roads. Mining and fertiliser plants need process, acid and ammonia storage. Power generation needs HFO and diesel tankage.
The engineering is not the hard part of an African project. The logistics chain and the labour model are.
Our position, stated plainly
We have not yet delivered a project on the African continent. Our completed overseas delivery is the Indian Oil petroleum terminal at Amlekhgunj, Nepal. We are not going to dress up a first African contract as a track record, and any owner or EPC contractor evaluating us should weigh that.
What we do bring is capability that transfers: API 650 and API 620 tank engineering, a 33,000 sq.ft. workshop with plate rolling to 50 mm, ASME Section IX qualified welders, ISO 9001:2015 quality management, ASME U-Stamp pressure vessel capability, and management experience covering 2,000+ tanks and 300+ projects across eight countries. On a first contract we would expect to be structured accordingly — under an experienced main contractor, or with an inspection and milestone regime that gives you control.
Shipping and the inland leg
East Africa
Mundra and Kandla to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Beira and Nacala is one of the shorter Indian Ocean runs — a genuine cost advantage against European or Far Eastern supply for East African terminals.
West Africa
Lagos, Onne, Tema and Abidjan are a longer voyage around the Cape or via Suez. Tank sizing and shipping splits are planned around sailing schedules and berth handling rather than assumed.
The landlocked leg
For Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi or the DRC, the port is the easy half. We size shipping pieces around road axle limits, bridge ratings and container availability for the inland haul, because a plate that cannot leave the port is worse than a smaller plate with an extra field weld.
Customs and clearance
Documentation is prepared for the destination regime — certificates of origin, pre-shipment inspection where mandated, and packing lists itemised to erection sequence so partial clearances do not strand a crate of internals.
The labour model that works here
Bringing a full Indian crew to an African site is usually the wrong answer: work permits are slow, costs are high, and local content expectations are real. The model we recommend is supervision-led — our erection manager, welding engineer and QA/QC inspector on site, with fitters, helpers and riggers engaged locally and welders qualified to ASME Section IX on arrival.
That last point is the one that decides project quality. Welder qualification is not a formality to be waived because the site is remote; it is the control that keeps radiography repair rates down and the hydrotest on schedule. We run the qualification on site, document it, and reject welders who do not pass.
Site conditions we plan for
Power and utilities
Welding machines, blasting equipment and lighting cannot assume grid supply. Generator capacity, fuel logistics and compressed air are planned into the mobilisation rather than discovered in week one.
Consumables and spares
Electrodes, wire, gases, abrasives and coatings are shipped with the tank package where local supply is unreliable, with the moisture control regime that filler metal requires in humid coastal conditions.
Coastal and tropical exposure
High humidity and salt-laden air drive surface preparation to SA 2.5 and heavier coating systems to NACE and SSPC, with DFT and holiday testing recorded.
Hydrotest water
Water availability and disposal are a genuine constraint on large tanks in arid or infrastructure-poor locations. The hydrotest plan — sourcing, chloride limits, staged filling and discharge — is agreed before mobilisation.
What we build for African projects
Fuel terminals and depots
API 650 cone roof, IFR and EFR tanks for petrol, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil, with dyke walls, piping, pumps, fire protection and instrumentation.
Mining and process storage
Acid storage, process water, reagent and slurry tankage for copper, cobalt, gold and phosphate operations, in appropriate linings and metallurgy.
Fertiliser and ammonia
API 620 and BS 7777 cryogenic ammonia storage, plus atmospheric chemical tankage for fertiliser plants.
Edible oil, water and power
Stainless and lined tanks for edible oil and food-grade duty, bulk water storage, and HFO or diesel day tanks for power generation.
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Frequently asked questions — Africa
Have you completed a storage tank project in Africa?
No. We state that plainly rather than implying otherwise. Our completed overseas delivery is the Indian Oil petroleum terminal at Amlekhgunj, Nepal. What transfers to an African project is the underlying capability — API 650 and API 620 tank engineering, a 33,000 sq.ft. workshop with plate rolling to 50 mm, ASME Section IX qualified welders, ISO 9001:2015 quality management, and management experience of 2,000+ tanks and 300+ projects across eight countries.
How do tanks get from India to an inland African site?
By sea to the nearest capable port — Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Beira, Nacala, Lagos, Onne, Tema or Djibouti — then by road inland. The inland leg governs the design of the shipping split: we size pieces around road axle limits, bridge ratings and container availability rather than around what is most convenient to fabricate. For landlocked destinations that usually means more, smaller pieces and a longer field weld schedule.
Will you send Indian workers, or hire locally?
Supervision from India, workforce local. Our erection manager, welding engineer and QA/QC inspector travel; fitters, helpers and riggers are engaged locally. Local welders are qualified to ASME Section IX on arrival, documented, and rejected if they do not pass. This model handles work-permit and local-content realities while keeping weld quality under our control.
How long is shipping from India to East Africa?
Mundra and Kandla to East African ports is one of the shorter Indian Ocean runs and is a real cost advantage against European or Far Eastern supply. West African ports — Lagos, Onne, Tema, Abidjan — are a considerably longer voyage, and we plan tank sizing and shipping splits around sailing schedules and berth handling capability.
Can you handle sites with no reliable power or water?
Yes, provided it is planned. Generator capacity, fuel logistics and compressed air are built into the mobilisation plan; welding consumables, gases, abrasives and coatings ship with the tank package where local supply is unreliable, with proper moisture control for filler metal in humid conditions. Hydrotest water sourcing, chloride limits, staged filling and disposal are agreed before mobilisation rather than improvised on site.
What coating specification do you use in tropical coastal conditions?
Surface preparation to SA 2.5 with coating systems to NACE and SSPC specification — typically zinc-rich primer with epoxy and polyurethane build for salt-laden humid exposure, plus internal linings appropriate to the stored product. Dry film thickness and holiday testing are recorded and handed over in the documentation dossier.
Do you work for mining and fertiliser clients as well as fuel terminals?
Yes. Beyond API 650 fuel tankage we build acid, process water, reagent and slurry storage for mining operations in appropriate linings and metallurgy; API 620 and BS 7777 cryogenic ammonia storage and atmospheric chemical tankage for fertiliser plants; stainless and lined tanks for edible oil and food-grade duty; and HFO or diesel tankage for power generation.
How should a first contract with you be structured?
Given we have no delivered African project, we would expect a structure that gives you control — working beneath an experienced main contractor, or a direct contract with stage-wise third-party inspection hold points, milestone-linked payment and a documentation regime agreed before fabrication starts. We would rather earn a second contract than over-promise on the first.