KAMPALA, Uganda — Technical commissioning for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline is scheduled for July 31, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa announced this week, signaling that Uganda is in the final stages of a decades-long journey toward commercial oil production.
The announcement follows a period of peak construction activity across the 1,443-kilometer project, which connects western Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. As of last week, overall project implementation stood at 79 percent, with officials expressing confidence that the infrastructure will be ready to transport crude to the international market by the end of July.
Nankabirwa said that while technical commissioning remains set for the end of July, a formal political commissioning ceremony is planned for October.
“At Kingfisher, we are almost at 100 percent,” Nankabirwa said during an inspection of the facilities. “At the jetty in Tanga, the two-kilometer offshore section is complete, while the marine terminal, tanks, electricity installations, and water facilities are 83 percent complete. By July, these components will be fully harmonized.”
John Bosco Habumugisha, deputy managing director of EACOP, said the final batch of line pipes for the Ugandan section arrived on Jan. 10, marking the end of a major logistics operation. Pipeline construction across the entire project currently stands at 62 percent, with more than 1,400 kilometers welded and 500 kilometers fully buried.
Work on the project’s critical Above-Ground Installations is also advancing. At Pump Station 1 in Kabaale, Hoima District, concrete works are 75 percent complete and piping and welding has reached 55 percent completion.
The project currently employs approximately 12,000 personnel across Uganda and Tanzania, with more than 90 percent of the workforce comprised of East Africans. Officials said this level of activity will continue through the first half of 2026 before the project transitions into the commissioning phase.
Once operational, the pipeline will supply up to 60,000 barrels of oil per day to a domestic refinery, while the remaining volumes will be exported. Transportation revenues are expected to begin at a tariff of $12.70 per barrel.
The push toward the July 31 deadline coincides with positive movement in the domestic economy. The Ugandan shilling registered gains yesterday, closing at 3,437.73 against the dollar, a move traders attributed to steady foreign currency inflows and balanced market demand.
