PETREDEC, a leading LPG value chain company, and Transnet announced a groundbreaking rail freight solution that is set to transform LPG distribution in South Africa. This landmark project, announced on 4 September, features a dedicated train system, modern LPG intermodal hub and storage facility at Sentrarand in Gauteng. It marks a significant milestone and investment in the country’s energy infrastructure, which is needed to meet the growing demand for LPG over the coming decades.
The new LPG hub at Sentrarand, Benoni will serve as a much-needed staging post for South Africa’s economic heartland and the broader SADC region. The hub will receive bulk LPG via rail from the initial load point at the Richards Bay LPG terminal in KwaZulu-Natal, developed in partnership with Bidvest Tank Terminals in 2020. Through the project, Petredec will introduce South Africa’s first scheduled LPG train system, with each 75-wagon trainset capable of transporting over 2,500t of LPG. Initially operating up to three times per week, this enhanced logistics system will further improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness of LPG distribution in the country.
“The strategic partnership between Petredec and Transnet Freight Rail marks a significant step in improving LPG accessibility in South Africa. This investment reflects our commitment to developing key LPG infrastructure and implementing more efficient, optimised logistical solutions – ultimately making LPG more affordable to end users. Our goal is clear: to make clean cooking solutions like LPG more accessible to those who need it, thus contributing to a broader vision of improved energy security, public health, energy affordability and environmental conservation in South Africa and beyond,” said Jonathan Fancher, CEO of Petredec.
Michelle Phillips, Transnet group chief executive, commented, “This landmark project marks a major advancement in the supply of LPG across the country, enabling bulk distribution of LPG on a scale never before achieved in Africa. The Sentrarand LPG hub and rail freight solution is critical infrastructure that will support South Africa’s long-term energy security and developmental ambitions.”
The Sentrarand LPG rail intermodal hub represents the latest investment by Petredec, reinforcing the company’s dedication to bringing cleaner energy to those that need it most. This initiative is particularly crucial in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, where, according to the International Energy Agency, one billion people still rely on solid biomass and kerosene for cooking, disproportionately negatively impacting women and girls. Such investments in LPG infrastructure can greatly enhance the affordability and accessibility of clean cooking solutions, delivering substantial health, developmental and environmental benefits to the region.
About Petredec
Petredec is a leading fully integrated, LPG shipping, trading, and land-based wholesale and terminal operating platform. With a focus on the environment, Petredec has built and operates one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleets of LPG vessels on the water today.
Petredec’s Downstream division has focused on the development of LPG infrastructure with a series of LPG import terminals in operation, and under construction, around the Indian Ocean. The first of these was commissioned in Mauritius in 2014, followed by the Richards Bay terminal in 2020, launched in South Africa in partnership with Bidvest Tank Terminals. In 2024, Petredec commenced operations at its largest terminal built to date, the 34,000mts import facility in Krishnapatnam, India with further developments underway in other key developing markets.
Petredec South Africa operates two subsidiary companies, Petrefuel and Petregaz, which distribute products in the liquid fuels and LPG sectors, respectively.
