EACOP construction starts after June

Construction works of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year when the compensation and resettlement exercise is expected to end, according to the acting Director of Petroleum in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Mr Honey Malinga.

This will be almost a year since the company applied for the construction licence from the government in July last year.

The process was delayed by the complexities in resettling the Project Affected Persons (PAPs).

Mr Malinga said the application would be processed within 180 days in accordance with the law; urging the EACOP company to pay attention and quickly address the persistent concerns raised by the communities, local leadership, government and civil society.

The concerns which include land valuation and protection of cultural sites among others, have persisted beyond the 180 days, thus, delaying the project, according to Mr Martin Tiffen, the Managing Director at the EACOP.

However, he said three-quarters of the PAPs have already signed agreements and are being compensated while the other processes are underway including the procurement of contractors.

The construction license enables the company to kick-start the development of the 1,443-kilometre heated underground pipeline from Kabaale village in Hoima district to Chongoleani in Tanga, Tanzania.

Mr Tiffen said the company has all the logistics needed to start the physical construction work.

However, he said there were unforeseen situations that required to be settled before compensation proceeded including settling all grievances like where the PAPs are not satisified.

While some landowners cannot be traced, there are others who died, but their dependents or heirs did not have legally acceptable proof of ownership and they had to go through a lengthy process by acquiring letters of administration.

Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between EACOP and the Institution of Surveyors of Uganda, (ISU) aimed at enhancing the skills of surveyors through training and other opportunities, Mr Tiffen said some situations required to repeat the valuation exercise, all leading to more delays adding that this exercise should end in the first half of this year.

Dr Nathan Kibwami, the ISU President, said in their view as surveyors, the concerns and grievances by the affected communities in many cases also led to increased costs of the properties to be valued because of the process of settling them.

He said the important matter is that there are grievance settlement mechanisms that have been applied to see the process continue.

The government and the EACOP company had to deal with the protest by communities in Mubende when the residents petitioned Stanbic and Absa banks against funding the EACOP and related projects until the relevant had responded to their concerns.

Particularly, Strategic Response on Environment Conservations – a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) opposed compulsory land acquisition and that the policy was taking away the PAPs’ rights.

In Mubende alone, about 800 people are affected by the pipeline which will run from Hoima through Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Kyotera, and Rakai, before crossing into Tanzania; affecting a total of 13, 158 people.

Mr Tiffen said the Mubende conflict was resolved and the process has been commended.