Mityana Gets Terminal Oil Pipeline

The Kampala terminal for the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline extension will be located 24km along the Kampala-Mityana road, an energy ministry official has said.

The source said petroleum firms were already considering buying land in the area for strategic reasons.

Officials recently said the 24-tank terminal will hold up to 160 million litres of fuel, enough to meet the needs of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for at least 21 days in case of disruptions in supply.

"I am pleased that the pipeline project from Eldoret to Kampala is ongoing and will be completed by the end of this year," Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, was quoted as saying during the recent heads of state summit. Kagame is the chairman of East African Community.

He added that terms of reference for a feasibility study on the extension of a similar pipeline from Uganda to Kigali and to Bujumbura in Burundi had been finalised.

There has been renewed interest in the pipeline due to the standoff between Kenya and Uganda due to the quarrel over Migingo Island and the disruption of railway transport by Kenya youths who have uprooted several railway sleepers in Kibera slum Nairobi.

Tamoil East Africa, a subsidiary of a Libyan company won the tender in 2006 to build, own, operate and eventually transfer the project to the Kenyan and Ugandan governments after a period of 20 years will build the terminal.

Government officials have also said they expect the pipeline to capable of bringing supplies of fuel products from the proposed oil fields in the Albertine gorge in mid western Uganda through 'reverse engineering'

Source: The New Vision, Wednesday, 22 April 2009