Bluegas Invests in $20m Suva Terminal
Since inception 30 years Bluegas has grown in leaps and bounds. Bluegas is the trading and brand name for Petroleum & Gas Company (Fiji) Pte Ltd,
The Punja family owners of Bluegas, a subsidiary of Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd, yesterday performed a foundation-laying ceremony for its new Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal in Suva.
Bluegas managing director Ajay Punja said the new investment is projected to cost $20 million and expected to employ 70 to 100 people. He added this project would further cement Bluegas’s footprint in the Central and Eastern region and vastly improve customer reach. “Till now the company was forced to service all customers from its only storage depot in Vuda.
“This growth in demand is one of the main reasons for Bluegas setting up the new terminal in Suva. “That apart, the new terminal will allow Bluegas to receive bulk gas directly from ships into its Suva terminal and avoid the risks entailed in transporting large volumes of fuel by road from Vuda to the Suva region.
“With nearly all offshore work such as sea-to-shore piping, jetty and buoys completed, the onshore terminal is the last remaining item for the project and is slated for completion by August 2021.
“The gas company has become a supplier of choice for domestic consumers, the majority of tourism resorts, restaurants, bakeries, hospitality sector and other institutions across Viti Levu,” Mr Punja said.
Brand-new barge
Mr Punja further added that to improve its reach to distant consumers, Bluegas has recently acquired a brand-new barge that would service remote islands.
“This most modern barge, which cost the company $3.5m conforms to the highest international standards (Llyod’s Register) and will be the first of its kind in Fiji.
“Bluegas has now set its sights on Vanua Levu where it does not operate at present but has acquired 2.5 acres land near Savusavu for setting up its next storage terminal. “Once done, it hopes to service the whole of Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Rabi and nearby islands.
“Being a 100 per cent locally owned company, Bluegas is hoping to receive even higher governmental support which is quite common even in highly developed countries,” he said.
Bluegas is one of Fiji’s ISO 9001:2015 certified LPG companies.
Diversification
Besides LPG, Bluegas also sells Automotive gas, Industrial Gases and thermal equipment under the same brand.
The company also delivers hightech solar heating and solar lighting solutions under its “Techno” brand. It has become Fiji’s leading solar solutions provider in a very short period of time, Mr Punja said. Bluegas was founded in 1990 in response to consumers’ demand for an alternative to the then 35-year monopoly commanded by the country’s other LPG supplier.
He says: “Bluegas’s entry into the market not only made LPG cheaper for consumers, it also eliminated the long wait that consumers had
for supplies.”
About Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd:
Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd is a 100 per cent locally owned company that has invested over $120m in the country over the past five years and
has projects worth more than $76m in the pipeline.
These include the:
Wailoaloa-Palm Beach Estate, Nasese Waters, Uduya Point Apartments and The Palms, Denarau. Hari Punja & Sons Pte Ltd also owns majority shares in FMF Foods Ltd and through it, subsidiaries such as Rice Co of Fiji Ltd, Atlantic & Pacific Packaging Co Ltd and Biscuit Co of (Fiji) Pte Ltd.