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Uganda’s government is in a legal tussle with 112 landowners who are set to be displaced by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) as low-value payment, absentee landlords and a complex landownership system in some parts of the country delay compensation, causing a headache to the project developers.
Because of this, a Ugandan court will on September 16, 2024, hear a case in which the government has sued 80 people, seeking to evict them from their land in three districts within the Greater Masaka region on the route of the Eacop, whose developers are racing against time to meet the timelines set for the country’s first oil exports next year.
This week, two similar cases were also heard featuring landowners in Hoima and Kyankwanzi districts, which are part of the 296km Eacop stretch in Uganda, where at least 32 absentee landowners and others who rejected low-value compensation pose significant delays.
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa, while addressing the media in Kampala last month, acknowledged the 112 cases “under consideration for compulsory land acquisition due to issues such as untraceable individuals, landowner disputes, refusal of compensation offers, and lack of legal title.”
Eacop officials told The EastAfrican that the project is entering a critical stage to start laying the pipeline, with early civil works almost complete.
Works on the 12 main camp persons yards (MCPYs) and six pump stations are ongoing, while the coating plant in Tanzania was commissioned in March, and 700km of line pipe has already delivered in Tanzania.
“Early civil works are ongoing in both Uganda and Tanzania,” Ms Nankabirwa said.
“In Uganda, work has been completed at three of the five MCPYs located in Hoima, Kakumiro, and Sembabule districts, while work continues at the MCPYs in Mubende and Kyotera districts.”
Stella Amony, communication lead at Eacop Ltd, the special purpose vehicle that is managing operations of the $5 billion project, said the first consignment of coated pipe “is to arrive in Uganda this month.”
-Business Insider Africa
Online Reporter