The Minister of Energy and Minerals of Tanzania, Prof. Sospeter Muhongo urged the private sector to invest in the upcoming oil refinery in western Uganda.
The oil refinery will process the oil for exports within the East African Community (EAC).
This was indicated in a recently published press release by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals of Tanzania.
The country has committed to pay USD150.4m for 8% ownership in the refinery.
The Government will be involved in its construction through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) with the private sector.
The project is worth USD2.5b. A private consortium will own 60% of the refinery.
Uganda has allocated the remaining 40% of the shares to the EAC member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda itself.
The construction of the Uganda oil refinery is part of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
EACOP will transport crude oil from Uganda’s oil fields to Tanga, Tanzania, a port on the Indian Ocean.
The pipeline will be 1,443km long with the capacity of carrying 200,000 barrels per day and total cost of USD3.55b.
The Uganda refinery will be built to process the oil needed locally and regionally, while the rest will be exported via EACOP to the Indian Ocean.
