Tanzania Approves $3.5 Billion Pipeline Project

February 23, 2023

Tanzania’s government gave its approval on Tuesday for the con­struction of a $3.5 bil­lion crude oil pipeline, part of a controversial mega-project that has raised concerns over human rights and the environment. The 1,443-kilometre (900-mile) pipeline will transport crude from vast oilfields be­ing developed in Lake Albert in northwestern Uganda to a Tanza­nian port on the Indian Ocean.

The pipeline required approval from both countries, and last month Uganda issued a licence to the proj­ect operator, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). “This construction approval marks another step forward to EACOP as it allows com­mencement of the main construction ac­tivities in Tanzania, upon completion of the ongoing land access process,” EACOP Tanzania general manager Wendy Brown said at a function to receive the approval certificate.

The $10 billion oilfields and pipeline project has run into strong opposition from rights campaigners and environmental groups that say it threatens the region’s fragile ecosys­tem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. It is being jointly developed by the China Na­tional Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and France’s Total Energies, along with the state-owned Uganda National Oil Company

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2023