By Njeri Irungu
Operations at the Lake Gas Vipingo Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Terminal in Kilifi County will continue uninterrupted after the Environment and Land Court in Malindi set aside an earlier decision that had cancelled the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice E. K. Makori overturned the National Environment Tribunal’s March 2025 decision to revoke the EIA licence issued to Vipingo Development Limited and Lake Gas Limited in 2019. The court ruled that while shortcomings were identified in the public participation process, cancelling the licence five years after its issuance—when the project was already completed and operational—was disproportionate and unjustified.
The case arose after five residents filed an appeal at the National Environment Tribunal in February 2024, challenging the approval of the LPG terminal’s EIA licence on grounds of inadequate public participation. The Tribunal agreed with the residents and cancelled the licence, prompting Lake Gas and its project partners to appeal to the Environment and Land Court.
In its ruling, the court acknowledged that public participation is a constitutional requirement under Articles 10 and 69 of the Constitution and a central pillar of environmental governance. However, the judge found that shutting down a fully operational project, which had attracted multi-billion-shilling investment and had not been shown to cause environmental harm, failed to balance environmental protection with economic development and the public interest.
Justice Makori noted that no scientific or technical evidence had been presented to demonstrate environmental pollution or risk arising from the operation of the LPG terminal. He further observed that revoking the licence would have far-reaching economic consequences, including job losses and disruption of energy supply, and would undermine legitimate expectations created by the licence issued in 2019.
Instead of cancelling the licence, the court directed the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to conduct a comprehensive environmental audit under Section 68 of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act. The audit, to be completed within three months, will assess whether the terminal’s operations align with the commitments made in the original EIA study and identify any unforeseen environmental impacts requiring mitigation.
Following the ruling, Lake Gas Ltd welcomed the decision, saying it provided clarity and stability for customers and stakeholders. The company confirmed that the Vipingo LPG Terminal, which was commissioned in June 2025 and is licensed by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), will remain operational.
Since commencing operations, the terminal has received four LPG vessels and established a regular import cycle of approximately 10,000 metric tonnes every 10 to 15 days. Lake Gas says the facility is central to its plan to supply up to 300,000 metric tonnes of LPG annually, strengthening Kenya’s energy security.
Industry analysts note that the entry of Lake Gas into Kenya’s LPG import and storage market has expanded national storage capacity and contributed to increased competition, with LPG prices reportedly declining by more than 30 per cent over the past year. The company says this has made clean cooking fuel more accessible to households, businesses and industries.
Lake Gas also called for legal and regulatory reforms to protect strategic national infrastructure projects from prolonged litigation, while reaffirming its commitment to environmental compliance, community engagement and operational safety.
The court ordered that each party bear its own costs, bringing to a close a dispute that has drawn national attention due to its implications for environmental governance, investment certainty and Kenya’s clean energy transition.
