East Africa Crude Oil Project to employ 10,000 local Ugandans
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is a 1,443km pipeline that once completed will run through 10 districts in Uganda, stretching from Hoima in Uganda to the Indian Ocean at the Tanga Port, west of Tanzania. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Locals. Currently, Uganda has between 4,000 and 5,000 locals working on the project.
The East Africa Crude Oil Project hopes to employ 10,000 local Ugandans in the construction of the project, with pipe-laying activities scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2024.
While providing broad insight on context of the employment status of the project, Mr Steven Sherura Bainenaama, the principal petroleum officer at the Ministry of Energy, said: “EACOP intends to employ more than 10,000 Ugandans during the construction phase. Currently, we have between 4,000 and 5,000 locals working on the project.
As the EACOP project progresses, significant developments are evident in Uganda and Tanzania. The coating plant in Nega District, Tanzania, is complete, and civil works are advancing at various sites, including the Marine Storage Terminal in Tanga. With 700 km of pipeline delivered to Tanzania and an additional 100 km arriving monthly, construction is well underway.
The information in the EACOP document about the project status indicates that the major contractor of the of EACOP project which is China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Ltd (CPP) has begun mobilising equipment and opening the right-of-way, with pipe-laying activities scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The EACOP Pipeline is a significant project for two countries of the East African Community, which is Uganda and Tanzania passing through densely populated areas.
Experts in the oil sector say the 1,443 KM crude oil export infrastructure will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale – Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsular near Tanga in Tanzania for export to the international market.
As the project draws close to start the actual work on the ground, Ms Lindah Nalubanga, the national content officer at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda said on August 26th at the launch of the training programme at Sunmaker Oil and Gas Training Institute in Bugolobi that the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project (EACOP) is set to recruit 140 welders in its construction phase with 33 already recruited for training by the major contractor China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Ltd.
