City square cannot be a fuel tanks reservior

Feb 15, 2009

In 1976, I worked with a German company which studied the underground soil and rock of Nakasongola and Jinja to find a potential site for fuel tank reservoirs.

David Hadoto

In 1976, I worked with a German company which studied the underground soil and rock of Nakasongola and Jinja to find a potential site for fuel tank reservoirs.

In the New Vision of January 10, I read the Government plans to find a new site for the fuel reservoir tanks at the Kampala City Square.

First, the parameters of the Underground Soil and Rock structures at the Kampala City Square are not studied to reveal the competence of the subsurface for the support of the weight of the planned fuel tanks.

Secondly, the Installations surrounding Kampala City Square that is the Bank of Uganda, Stanbic Bank, Crane Towers Bank, the High Court, Imperial Hotel and in view of the centeredness of the Commercial part of Kampala dictate that the site is not ideal for the tanks.

If a fire broke out it would destroy Kampala City Square and the surrounding areas.

The Busesa fuel tanker in Uganda and the tanker that killed 400 people in Kenya just seem past nightmares for the us in Uganda.

Besides, the ugly fumes during and after loading the tanks would be an eyesore let alone a hazard to our health and environment.

Andrew Nkurunziza recently raised a relevant alarm in the press about fuel depots as a danger to Namuwongo, a Kampala City suburb.

Therefore, a lot needs to be done in the search for a site. It must be remote from key installations yet secure in security. A lot is needed to understudy the subsurface soil and rock-member-dynamics from an internationally reputable laboratory.

Furthermore, an in-depth study concerning such sensitive matters about human-induced-hazards is called for from this Government as compared to the leaders of the past regimes.

There is need for an exhaustive, know-how in the fields of construction engineering and environment development as pre-requisites to finding a site for national-fuel-reservoirs. These require national rather than individual thinking.

The writer is an assistant commissioner Geo-Science Data Centre, Department of
Geological Survey and Mines

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