Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni is expected to arrive in Tanzania on Saturday for a three-day working visit, where he will attend an oil and gas meeting and hold bilateral talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
During the meeting, President Museveni will give a keynote speech on the opportunities presented by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, a 1,445km pipeline that will connect Uganda's oil fields to Tanzania's port of Tanga.
The EACOP project, valued at $3.5 billion, is a joint construction project between Uganda and Tanzania, with France's Total and China's CNOOC as key partners. The project aims to create over 5,000 jobs directly and over 20,000 others indirectly.
However, the project still faces financing challenges after some European lenders withdrew their support. Despite this, the two countries signed key agreements in April this year, including the Host Government Agreement, Share Holder Agreement, and Tariff agreements.
Uganda has also secured five acres of land in Tanga to set up a business complex to monitor the country's expected oil cash inflow from petroleum exports. The first oil drop from the Albertine Grabben belt is expected to start flowing in 2025.
