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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tanzania president Joseph Pombe Magufuli will visit Uganda this week to seal cooperation in areas of transport, power and oil. His 3-day State Visit will climax with laying of the second foundation stone for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline in Hoima on Saturday.
In August, President Yoweri Museveni and Magufuli commissioned the construction of the 1,445km-long East African crude oil pipe line from Hoima district in Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga by laying the first foundation stone.
The heated crude oil pipe line, the longest of its kind in the world, will cost $3.5 billion and will be completed by 2020 making Uganda join the ranks of oil producing countries. The pipeline works will be undertaken by Total E&P, CNOOC and Tullow Oil together with the two governments of Uganda and Tanzania. The pipe line will on completion carry 216,000 barrels of crude oil for export daily.
The Tanzanian government has made numerous concessions to fast track the project that will put the cost of delivering a barrel of oil from Hoima to Tanga at $12.2 per barrel, making Uganda’s crude oil propfitable even at today’s rate of $50 per barrel.
A second visit for Magufuli
This will be Magufuli’s second visit, the first being the swearing-in ceremony of President Yoweri Museveni in May 2016.
Magufuli’s visit starts on November 9th 2017 with the Commissioning of a One Stop Border Post at Mutukula. The two presidents will then lay a cross-border mark-stone at Luzinga Village for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and address a rally in Kyotera.
Magufuli’s visit comes at a time when the two countries have stepped up bilateral cooperation in a number of sectors. The 1st Tanzania-Uganda Permanent Joint Commission was held on April 3-5, 2017 in Arusha during which both countries agreed on a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and other cooperation frameworks. On July 29, 2017 a Ministerial Session was held in Bukoba on cross-border issues.
The key bilateral issues for consideration during the visit will include cooperation in the Transport sector, Power Projects and Uganda-Tanzania cross border issues. A number of MOUs on Cooperation in various fields are also expected to be signed.
The two leaders are also expected to hold a Press Conference in Masaka on Friday November 10th which shall be concluded by the issuing of a Joint Communique.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT EAST AFRICA CRUDE OIL PIPELINE
– At 1,445kms, it will be the longest electrically-heated oil pipeline in the world.
– Uganda will host 296kms of the pipeline, while the remaining 1,149kms will be in Tanzania.
– In Uganda, the pipeline will run through eight districts and 24 sub-counties. In Tanzania, it will go through eight regions and 24 districts.
– It will be a buried pipeline, with 1.2 metres of it beneath the ground.
– Its estimated cost is $3.55 billion while constriction should last three years.
– It will have a daily flow rate of 216,000 barrels with six pumping stations and two pressure reduction stations.
