Mmegi

Filling station boom raises market saturation alarms

Studies due: BERA wants to check the density of filling stations around the country PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Studies due: BERA wants to check the density of filling stations around the country PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE

The Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) has initiated a study into the location and concentration of filling stations, as the country experiences a surge in numbers, despite the declining count of newly registered vehicles quarterly since 2023.

The study comes as the country’s retail fuel sector faces growing concerns of overcapacity, with instances where some filling stations receive licences and open a few metres away from each other.

Statistics Botswana data on transport and infrastructure shows that since the third quarter of 2023, the number of first-time registrations in the country have gone up on a quarterly basis. The trend means the traditionally accelerated growth in the country’s vehicle population, has slowed down.

Editor's Comment
The Boko-led administration has to tread carefully

‘When you make peace withyourself, you make peace with the world’- Maha GhosanandaThis may come at a huge cost if not handled properly. What started off on Labour Day in Letlhakane this year, where Boko was in attendance when the militant lawyer-cum-trade unionist, Robert Rabasimane rebutted the President’s address in defence of the trade union has seemingly spiralled out of control. The issue is now creating a cat-and-mouse type of a...

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