EXPERTS have outlined several benefits that will come from execution of the 1,443kms long East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Tanzania and Uganda, including massive economic gains for both countries.
They said the project that will be executed at a budget of 5.1billion US dollars is expected to stimulate economies of the two countries throughout the construction period.
Upon completion, the project will play a role in increasing revenue collection of the two countries based on the activities that will be carried out.
The benefits were mentioned during a symposium held to discuss economic benefits of EACOP which will connect Hoima part of Uganda to Chongoleani, Tanga, in Tanzania.
Speaking during the event, an economist Ivan Tarimo said given the economic benefits of the EACOP, Tanzania and Uganda have all the obligations to undertake the project as planned.
“The project will increase transactions in the economy, Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) as well as enabling the two countries to increase revenue collection to an average of between 50 and 60 per cent,” he said.
According to him, investment in the EACOP project accounts for 7.4 per cent of the total economy of Tanzania which is accounting to 161tri/-.
His statement was in line with the remarks by Eng Abdulaziz Jaad, who said the two countries should maintain the focus on implementation of the project and ensure that national interests are well protected.
Like the views of Mr Tarimo, also Eng Jaadi who is an expert on implementation of strategic development projects challenged the recent resolution passed by the European Union Parliament that forced Uganda, Tanzania and the Total Energies SE to delay the project.
He said the decision by the EU parliament may have resulted from misinformation on some of the facts.
The Director General of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), Dr James Mataragio said the two countries have so far acquired half of the budget that was needed for execution of the project.
He said out of the 5.1 billion US dollars, there is a consortium of banks that have issued 1.6 billion US dollars while host countries have already issued a total of 2billion dollars.
“We are finalising talks with the government of China which has shown a commitment to the remaining balance of 1.6 billion US dollars,” he said.
Dr Mataragio added that already 2.4bn/- has been spent on paying compensation to 388 families who have vacated their premises to pave way for construction of the camp site for the project.
He also assured that the project has met the entire national and international standard in terms of environmental and human rights aspects.
According to him, a total of 15 laws and 6 by laws were formulated prior to execution of the project, for the sake of ensuring smooth operations.
“Also we have signed contracts with 10 main contractors who will work for the project. They will be subcontracting to local contractors, a move that will ensure that Tanzanians are also benefiting from the construction,” he said.
The chairman of Association of Tanzania Oil and Gas Service Providers (ATOGS), Abdulsamad Abdulrahim said the motion was unfortunate and that the EU legislative body was misinformed before landing into such decisions.
“We believe that the EU has been misinformed and the resolution is based on misinformation and deliberate misrepresentation of key facts on environment and human rights protection,” he said.
He said the project also passed through all crucial stages, including an extensive Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) that was conducted by Western companies, by IFC standards and international best practices, as well as numbers of biodiversity and biological baseline surveys.
