The construction of the US $3.5 billion Uganda-Tanzania crude oil pipeline is expected to start June this year once leaders of the countries endorse the agreements reached during the negotiations.
Tanzania’s Energy Minister Medard Kalemani said yesterday during a live broadcast on state television.
The minister said energy ministers of Uganda, Tanzania and other stakeholders met in Kampala last week to formalize discussions that will formalize the long-awaited 1,445 km long project that runs from Hoima district in Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga Port in Tanzania.
“Tanzania has completed eight core professional works that needed to be finalised after the foundation stone was laid and also before the construction can begin,” he said. He said Tanzania needed to identify an area where five crude oil storage tanks, each with capacity of 2.5 litres million would be installed.
He said government in Tanzania has completed the evaluation and compensation of land owners to the tune of Tsh5 billion.
He said government would by March this year have complete geological and geotechnical evaluations in areas of Manyara Sigida Kagera and other regions along the oil pipeline route. The same process has been completed in Tanga.
Since the inauguration of the project in 2007, there have been a series of technical meetings between the two countries.
Some of the issues that needed to be resolved were; distribution of revenue, registration of the companies to be involved in the project, issues related to security and citizens’ participation.
80 percent of the pipeline will pass through eight regions of Tanzania that include 28 districts, 126 villages and 232 wards. The pipeline will have 18 stations, 16 of them will be in Tanzania.
The projects will provide over 15000 jobs during and after completion.
Uganda has proven oil reserves of 6.5 billion barrels with about 2.2 billion recoverable.