It’s all happening in Mozambique. Elsewhere in this newsletter, we report on MAN’s new dealership opening in Maputo. Now we’re hear of Engen continuing its aggressive retail expansion in Mozambique with plans for three service stations in the near future – one in Maputo and two in Inhambane. Engen currently operates 16 services stations in Mozambique.
Mike Cook, retail services manager in Engen’s International Business Division, says the Maputo site will be located outside Estádio do Zimpeto, Mozambique’s iconic national stadium, which was opened in 2011.
“We’re just waiting for approval from the relevant local authority,” he says. “Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2016. The flagship site will have a full convenience offering including an Engen Quickshop with a sit-down Corner Bakery.”
As for Inhambane, Cook says plans are to complete construction on both sites by the end of the year. The first Inhambane site will be a knock-down revamp to bring it to its full potential size-wise and to match the high global environmental, safety and quality standards of Engen’s retail offerings.
“This site is showing tremendous promise. Demand has exceeded current capacity so it was ripe for a full rebuild with a complete convenience offering and Corner Bakery. Previously there was no Quickshop,” says Cook.
Engen started construction on the second Inhambane site in August. The brand-new service station will feature a sit-down Corner Bakery and completion is planned for the end of 2015.
“The plans for 2016 are quite aggressive,” says Drikus Kotze, general manager of Engen’s International Business Division. “There’s a possibility of four new sites in the works and we plan to integrate the Corner Bakery franchise more fully throughout our existing footprint of sites, while also upgrading our forecourts and convenience shops in Mozambique.”
Kotze says the current expansion activity signals Engen’s seriousness about the Mozambican market.
“This is a key market for us, as demonstrated by our continued retail expansion and a new depot we’ve just inaugurated in Beira (click here to see past report in FleetWatch). The depot opens up another corridor of supply into southern Africa, taking pressure off our Durban refinery and ensuring greater security of supply in the region. The expanding retail network is, we believe, indication of Mozambique’s economic growth.”
Engen currently operates in 18 countries in Sub Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.
