OFFICIAL OPENING
Gaborone Truck Staging Centre and Tshele Hills Depot Site Tour
On the 21st of September 2020 Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) officially opened the Gaborone Truck Staging Centre. The centre, situated along Old Lobatse Road, opposite Old Naledi, will provide parking space for bulk vehicles.
Officially commissioning the centre, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Hon. Lefoko Maxwell Moagi observed that over the years, Haile Selassie Road, which passes in front of the Gaborone Fuel Depot has become a hive of business activity and as a result, has become narrower and narrower, as it were.
This means that bulk vehicles, some waiting to off-load petroleum products at these depots and others waiting to load, queue along this street, congesting the street. He said this poses a great risk to all the businesses, property and people in the vicinity of the depot. He further observed that the speed at which some motorists drive along that street is also a great cause for concern, adding that in the event of an incident, the congestion obtaining in that street would make it difficult for emergency services to gain access and evacuation would be almost impossible.
Hon Moagi said it is mainly for this safety reason that BOL found it not only necessary, but also pressing to construct the Truck Staging facility. The state of the art centre which houses vehicles awaiting service at the Gaborone Depot. The centre is connected to the Gaborone Depot through an advanced queuing system that facilitates the orderly and timely servicing of the vehicles. It also has ablution facilities and other amenities for the truck drivers.
The centre is also open to other bulk transporters who may need a safe overnight or extended stay facility for safe keeping of their vehicles and or loads. Hon. Moagi said the centre, which will be managed at the highest safety standard, will stimulate the economy of this neighbourhood, though to a small scale. BOL will engage with the community leadership to identify possible opportunities that could benefit the youth, women and other interest groups
The Gaborone Truck Staging Centre is one of many initiatives that the Government is embarking on through BOL to ensure the security of petroleum products in the country. One such facility is the Tshele Hills Storage facility whose construction was put on hold in 2018 due to funding challenges. Following the commissioning of the Truck Staging Centre, the BOL Board toured the Tshele Hills facility, to get an appreciation of the work so far completed.