By LILIAN OCHIENG

Development of the $4 billion (Sh384 billion) crude oil pipeline from Uganda to Kenya is among priority projects marked for supervision by a new authority set up by East African heads of state last week.

Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni established the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority during the 10th Northern Corridor integration projects summit in Kampala.

They discussed a feasibility study and design of the pipeline presented by Japan’s Toyota Tsusho at a closed-door business forum with the private sector and are expected to say whether the design will be adopted or not.

OUTSTANDING PROJECTS

“I am optimistic that the new authority will organise implementation of the various outstanding projects,” said President Kenyatta in a statement, expressing confidence that the initiatives will be hastened as agreed upon to meet set timelines.

Kenya has already appointed former Cabinet Minister Joseph Nyaga as a supervisor in the authority. Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan will name full time supervisors to ensure project timelines are not stretched.

Other priority projects for implementation are the standard gauge railway, single customs territory and Uganda’s oil refinery development and human resource capacity building across the states to enhance flow of labour.

Both President Kenyatta and Mr Museveni are keen on a cost-effective means of moving crude oil and might settle on the route which starts from Northern Uganda to North Kenya around Lokichar Basin, and then stretches to the port of Lamu.

SEARCH FOR FIRM 

Mr Daniel Kiptoo, petroleum legal adviser for the Energy Cabinet secretary said the next step was for both governments to adopt the report and present it to the public.

Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge last month said the search for firms to build the pipeline would follow in six months.

Kenya estimates its crude oil reserves to be about a billion barrels, with experts saying it is enough to make a pipeline viable without Uganda whose reserves are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels.

Agreements on total liberalisation of free movement of labour and total liberalisation of free movement of services were signed at the summit.

A memorandum of understanding on the western and southern routes of the standard gauge railway and MoU on foreign policy coordination and cyber security were also signed.

Source: Daily Nation