Since the outbreak of Corona virus pandemic in Uganda, President Museveni has never had any trip outside the country.
Museveni’s travel to Tanzania comes two days after the Government of Uganda and Total, signed a Home Government Agreement for East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
In a ceremony that was presided over by President Museveni at State House in Entebbe on September 11, the government of Uganda and Total, agreed on a commercial framework for the Lake Albert Development project.
President also promised to get in touch in Tanzania’s president John Pombe Magufuli, to resolve all other pending issues and follow up their host agreement.
It is well known that President Magufuli has been asking Museveni to hasten the oil pipeline deal.
The oil pipeline will start in Buseruka sub-county, Hoima District, and it will cover 1,445 km to Tanga in Tanzania. President Magufuli has hopes that once the pipeline is concluded, it will be the world’s longest pipeline.
“If President Museveni and I agreed to build a pipeline from Hoima up to Tanga; the world’s longest heated pipeline, there are a lot of things we had to sacrifice,” Magufuli said.
Results of these talks with Total will also advance Magufuli’s reputation in advance of Tanzania’s election that will occur in October, 2021.
During the construction phase of the proposed EACOP project, indigenous casual workers will be employed from each district the pipeline passes from Hoima in Western Uganda to Port Tanga in Tanzania.
The pipeline deal is likely to improve the standards of local capacity through technology transfer.
It is also hoped that the proposed EACOP will provide short-term employment of about 2- 3 years for welders, heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, mechanics, site engineers, construction manager and construction laborers and more, hiring approximately 10,000 people during the construction phase.
The HGA aims to ensure that both countries (Uganda and Tanzania) fully benefit from the project in regards to the transportation of the crude to the international market.
