ENERGY and Minerals Minister Professor Sospeter Muhongo is on Wednesday leading high-ranking delegation from Tanzania to Kampala where the Ugandan government is expected to make announcement of the suitable route for the envisaged pipeline to export its crude oil.
However, media reports from both private
and state owned media outlets in Kampala, citing a draft report by a
team of Ugandan technocrats, pointed to all signs that officials in that
country have recommended the Tanzania route to Tanga Port as the
preferable direction for the pipeline.
The announcement is slated to be made
today at the 13th Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) summit
in Kampala, which kicked off yesterday with several technical and
ministerial meetings ahead of Heads of State meeting today.
Reports from Uganda indicated yesterday
that Heads of State from the East African Community (EAC) are expected
to attend the summit together with their counterparts from Ethiopia and
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, when reached for confirmation,
neither Acting Director of Presidential Communications, Mr Gerson
Msigwa, nor the Head of Communications in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, East African, Regional and International Cooperation, Ms Mindi
Kasiga, could tell whether President John Magufuli would attend.
Running under the chairmanship of
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the major highlight of the conference
is the impending announcement of the pipeline’s route with all
indications pointing to the port of Tanga in Tanzania, the state-owned
‘New Vision’ reported in Kampala on Tuesday.
The newspaper went to quote the Minister
for Energy and Minerals in Uganda, Ms Irene Mulomi, who confirmed last
week that it would be crucial to announce the route at the summit
because it is a critical infrastructure project for the region.
In a telephone interview with this
newspaper, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and
Minerals, Professor Justin Ntalikwa, confirmed that he will be
travelling to Kampala with Minister Muhongo.“As far as I understand, I
will be travelling to Kampala to attend the summit together with Prof
Muhongo.
I don’t have further information,” Prof
Ntalikwa told the ‘Daily News.’ However, reports from Kampala indicated
that Heads of State from the six-member states making the East African
Community (EAC) namely Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and
South Sudan are expected to attend the summit.
They will be joined by leaders from the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia, both crucial partners
for infrastructure improvement in the Great Lakes Region.
If all goes as planned, the 24-inch
conduit to cover 1,403 kilometres from Kabale (Hoima) to Tanga Port on
the shores of Indian Ocean will be implemented at a cost of US $4
billion dollars (about 8tri/-) starting August this year.
Upon completion, the pipeline is
expected to transport about 200,000 barrels of crude products from Hoima
oil fields in South- Western Uganda for export markets. Total E&P
of France has already secured the US $4 billion (roughly 8tri/-)
required for the mega project and showed willingness to dishout the
funds should the pipeline pass through Tanzania.
“The comprehensive analysis of the
different options [routes], studies and due diligence results has been
completed,” said the Ugandan technocrats in the report. “The
Kabaale-Tanga route is the only option to secure first oil export by mid
2020, with pipeline availability of 99 per cent
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