East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd. Commences the handover of replacement houses to Project Affected Persons.

EACOP Ltd. is handing over the first houses from a batch of replacement houses completed in February (43 out of a total of 178) along the route. These concern Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in the Districts of Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Sembabule, Rakai, Kyotera, and Lwengo. A handover ceremony was officiated by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa.

The Minister commended the Company for the fulfillment of the commitments towards the Project Affected Persons and the continued support offered to them during the land acquisition process. Speaking at the launch and handover of the houses to the beneficiaries, Mr. Martin Tiffen Managing Director, EACOP Ltd, said “This resettlement housing construction is both a 100% National Content effort and also a representation of our commitment to undertaking the development of the EACOP Project in a responsible and sustainable manner, while observing the laws and regulations of Uganda, the Equator Principles IV and the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.”

In line with the IFC Performance Standards 5, a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) was developed. Ministry of Energy has reviewed and approved the RAP which presents the eligibility criteria and the designs of replacement housing (available on EACOP website). In Uganda 203 of the 2648 PAPs are physically displaced, and of these 178 have opted to choose replacement housing as in-kind compensation instead of monetary compensation. IFC PS5 advises companies to avoid involuntary resettlement wherever possible and to minimize its impact on those displaced through mitigation measures such as fair compensation and improvements to livelihood and living conditions.

EACOP publicly commits to implementing such initiatives and today is a concrete representation of that. Eligible PAPs (with particular attention to the vulnerable) are being provided with transitional (food baskets), relocation support (to help them to transport their belongings to the new location) and livelihood restoration programs, aimed at improving income[1]earning capacity, production levels, and standards of living.

In fulfillment of EACOPs commitment to national content, the totality of the construction of the 178 houses is being executed by Ugandan construction Companies (Technical Masters Ltd, Egis Engineering Contractors, Excel Construction, Epsilon). The Company has also contracted 2 supervision contractors; KATT Consult Ltd and Bureau Veritas Uganda Ltd, for quality assurance and control. EACOP will continue to engage with the project affected communities to ensure that their feedback is considered throughout the planning and implementation of the resettlement activities.