Energy Ministry assured of ownership of Kampala oil terminal land

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  | The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has been assured that they own land that will house the planned Kampala Oil Terminal.

The piece of land measuring 299 acres is situated at Namwambula village in Kiringente sub county in Mpigi district. It was purchased by the Ministry at a cost of 13.5 billion Shillings from an Indian firm N. Shah and Company Limited.

The company had lost the land during the eviction of Indians by President Idi Amin Dada in 1972 and never reclaimed it when the Departed Asians Custodian board was established to take over assets transferred to it under the Departed Asians Decree.

Last year, Gideon Kabuye Kirumira came up claiming ownership of the land. Kirumira claims that in 2014, he acquired 400 acres of land on block 107 plot 16 Mawokota, from a one Leo Lule Kimal’Empaka at 14 billion Shilling. He says that part of his land is what was sold to the Ministry.

Hanns Kyazze, communications consultant at the Ministry notes that they have been informed by ministry of lands authorities that they are free to utilize the titled land.

“When a person came up claiming ownership of that piece of land, the ministry sought advice from the Ministry of Lands regarding the ownership which reaffirmed that the Land is in the names of the Uganda Land Commission with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development as the User,” says Kyazze.

John Bosco Habumugisha, General Manager of the National Pipeline Company, UNOC’S subsidiary in charge of midstream and downstream activities says there was a fear that the complaintcouldfrustrate their plans of developing the land.

Habumugisha, says although UNOC had mooted to temporary fence off the area to keep away trespassers and land grabbers, they are in final stages of getting a strategic partner who is going to embark on the construction of the facility.

Given the fact that the facility is going to be linked with to the oil refinery, Habumugisha stresses that UNOC has since finalized the Resettlement Action Plan which is now before the chief government valuer among other as government conclude other prerequisites of the final-product pipeline.

The Kampala oil terminal is looked at as a delivery point for the planned Hoima – Kampala products pipeline and a distribution centre for petroleum products to market centres in Kampala, Western Kenya, Northern Tanzania and Rwanda as well as storage and distribution centre for imported petroleum products.

The facility is as well proposed to handle to the planned Eldoret (Kenya) – Kampala (Uganda) products pipeline and serving as the starting point for the planned Kampala (Uganda)-Kigali (Rwanda) products pipeline.

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