02 October 2011
KUWAIT: Public unhappiness is growing in Kuwait at a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders widely used for cooking, especially since Kuwait does not yet have any mains gas supply. Whilst many local domestic users have grown used to being unable to easily obtain LPG cylinders as and when required in the past couple of months, commercial users such as restaurants, caf�s and other businesses are unhappy at having to worry on a daily basis about how to source sufficient supplies of the cylinders, which are essential for their business.
The problem has been particularly noticeable for the past three months, particularly in Farwaniya, Khaitan and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, with some businesses, such as water tanker suppliers, forced to shut down for a few day s due to their inability to source an adequate LPG supply. Some business owners have switched to using kerosene in an effort to avoid the problems they face with obtaining LPG.
Staff at some LPG cylinder retailers, such as those at local Cooperative stores, have complained that the gas supplier firms recently reduced the number of LPG cylinders provided per day to them. Mohammed Hammadouah, the head of the Farwaniya Co-op's LPG supply division, said that the problem began just over two months ago when the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), the country's main LPG supplier, introduced a new policy of providing them with three rather than four truckloads of LPG cylinders per day.
This means that the number provided to each Co-op LPG outlet daily has been slashed by 735, with the knock-on effect being felt by individual consumers and businesses. The problem is definitely affecting local restaurants, with a manager of a large recently opened restaurant in Farwaniya telling local daily Al-Watan, "We've been suffering since we opened the restaurant because restaurants use large quantities of LPG cylinders, up to ten every day.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the restaurant manager explained that the shortage of industrial-sized cylinders has led to the restaurant having to use smaller, domestic ones, which run out quickly, adding that the problem recently reached a critical point where the restaurant, which employs 30 people, was almost forced to shut.
The manager added that this risk was only averted by staff borrowing cylinders from friends and family members, and assigning one staff member to spend time every day tracking down a supply of LPG cylinders to ensure that the restaurant remains open.
KUWAIT: Public unhappiness is growing in Kuwait at a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders widely used for cooking, especially since Kuwait does not yet have any mains gas supply. Whilst many local domestic users have grown used to being unable to easily obtain LPG cylinders as and when required in the past couple of months, commercial users such as restaurants, caf�s and other businesses are unhappy at having to worry on a daily basis about how to source sufficient supplies of the cylinders, which are essential for their business.
The problem has been particularly noticeable for the past three months, particularly in Farwaniya, Khaitan and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, with some businesses, such as water tanker suppliers, forced to shut down for a few day s due to their inability to source an adequate LPG supply. Some business owners have switched to using kerosene in an effort to avoid the problems they face with obtaining LPG.
Staff at some LPG cylinder retailers, such as those at local Cooperative stores, have complained that the gas supplier firms recently reduced the number of LPG cylinders provided per day to them. Mohammed Hammadouah, the head of the Farwaniya Co-op's LPG supply division, said that the problem began just over two months ago when the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), the country's main LPG supplier, introduced a new policy of providing them with three rather than four truckloads of LPG cylinders per day.
This means that the number provided to each Co-op LPG outlet daily has been slashed by 735, with the knock-on effect being felt by individual consumers and businesses. The problem is definitely affecting local restaurants, with a manager of a large recently opened restaurant in Farwaniya telling local daily Al-Watan, "We've been suffering since we opened the restaurant because restaurants use large quantities of LPG cylinders, up to ten every day.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the restaurant manager explained that the shortage of industrial-sized cylinders has led to the restaurant having to use smaller, domestic ones, which run out quickly, adding that the problem recently reached a critical point where the restaurant, which employs 30 people, was almost forced to shut.
The manager added that this risk was only averted by staff borrowing cylinders from friends and family members, and assigning one staff member to spend time every day tracking down a supply of LPG cylinders to ensure that the restaurant remains open.
© Kuwait Times 2011
