Kufungua fursa za Afrika Mashariki

Unlocking East Africa’s Potential
The Economic Commission for Africa indicates that East Africa registered the fastest economic growth in 2016 compared with the other regions on the continent, with an impressive growth rate of 5.5% in 2016, projected to increase to 6.0% in 2017 and 6.3% in 2018 respectively.

The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects Report, further anticipates that Tanzania will post 7.1% growth, Kenya and Rwanda 6%, Uganda 5.6% and Burundi 2.5% in 2017.

Capital Injection in the Economy
East Africa’s development as a preferential business hub and the region’s remarkable investment flows are largely attributed to the capital investment in the oil, gas and manufacturing industries with the respective governments undertaking several multibillion dollar projects, such as, The East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP). The EACOP is a 1,445km pipeline that will transport crude oil from Uganda to the Indian Ocean Coast in Tanzania. The construction of the pipeline will lead to  a substantial rise in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for both countries.

The 3.5 Billion USD investment capital associated with the construction and operation of the Pipeline will be directly injected into the economies of Uganda, and Tanzania increasing their FDI by over 60 % during the construction phase.

The project will be constructed and operated through a pipeline company with shareholding from the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), and the three oil companies, CNOOC, TOTAL and TULLOW.

Potential for oil exploration in the region
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline will unlock East Africa’s oil potential by attracting investors and companies to explore the potential in the region.

Enhancement of the central trade corridor
The project will contribute towards the enhancement of the central corridor between Uganda and Tanzania through the development of new infrastructure, logistics, technology transfer and the improvement of the livelihoods of East Africans.

Employment Creation
The pipeline will create short term (2-3 years) employment for both highly skilled and, semi-skilled professionals, and casual laborers. It is expected that casual workers who will be involved in the construction phase of the project will be sourced locally from each district, thus promoting the development of local capacity to develop other pipeline projects in the region.

Business Opportunities
The pipeline will also provide business opportunities for the different sectors of the economy  involved in the pipeline design, construction, and operation and decommissioning of the project, and create a trickle down economic effect spurring the development of local content.

 Developing the Oil & Gas Value Chain
The development and maintenance of the pipeline infrastructure in the two countries will also contribute to the capacity building and know-how of national service providers.

Targeted national content programs will aim to enhance the transfer of knowledge, training and capacity building to enable these companies to be pre-qualified and potentially bid for complex and high caliber projects.

Increasing Infrastructure Development
Along the pipeline route, service roads will be upgraded or developed to facilitate the access to and maintenance of the pipeline during its construction, operations and decommissioning phases. These roads will increase accessibility of the areas traversed by the pipeline enhancing the movement of goods and people and overall economic exchanges.