Uganda, through Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited, to construct a fuel pipeline to Rwanda in a way of easing the transportation process of the product to the neighbouring country.
This was revealed by Dinesh Donadi the Project Manager at Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited on Saturday 8th July when the Cabinet Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon Ruth Nankabirwa paid a courtesy visit at the project’s headquarters in Bugiri-Bukasa Katabi town council, Entebbe in Wakiso district
Donadi said that the use of pipelines is the cheapest way of transporting petroleum followed by water transport, and therefore they came up with this idea which will also involve the construction of another storage facility in Rwanda to supplement the main facility here in Uganda as well as accommodating the market needs of not only the two countries but also the neighbours including Kenya, Tanzania, Congo among others.
“Currently, Petroleum products like Diesel, Gasoline, Kerosene, and Jet A1 are transported by road making it costly, susceptible to adulteration, accidents, and uncertain supplies, so this investment will support businesses to reduce the costs we incur to deliver goods in the country as well as the neighbouring countries,” he added.
Hon. Ruth Ssentamu Nankabirwa the Cabinet minister of Energy and Mineral Development said that besides the traffic jam and accidents, the roads where the petroleum tracks pass keep on wearing which can cost the government in terms of rehabilitation and therefore welcome the pipeline idea.
“We do commercial visibility if the investor finds it that it will be commercially fine to connect from here to Rwanda by a pipeline rather than taking tracks, government supports that,” she noted.
She also highlighted that such a project will require the resettlement of people and therefore asked the communities to cooperate when it comes to the issue of compensation and resettlement.
On the issue of fuel prices, Nankabirwa said that one of the factors that contribute to the cost of the commodity is transport, therefore when you simplify transport to become more affordable it reduces the costs hence lowing the product’s price and other commodities because once the fuel prices come down we also expect other products charges to come down as well.
“This is an excellent project not only in Uganda but also the entire continent of Africa and i think Ugandans should be proud of this initiative starting with the people of Bugiri-Bukasa since there is a value-added in their area therefore we also need good infrastructure to facilitate the project,” she remarked.
In the culture ships that are being constructed inland are supposed to be pulled into the water by the female, therefore she concluded by giving an assurance to officiate and pull Uganda’s second manufactured ship into Lake Victoria that is under construction by the same company on an event that will take place in December 2023 after it’s completion.
“This is a game changer within Uganda and the nearby countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Congo among others and we are very lucky that Uganda is the first country in Africa to build a ship of this nature on this great lake Victoria,” said Steve Omenge Mainda the Chairman of Continental Reinsurance Limited.
The recent start of fuel transportation by the MT Kabaka Mutebi II along the Kisumu-Entebbe route is a potential disruption in the entire delivery chain, according to experts.
The ship can carry 4.5 million liters at once making it the first vessel of its type in Uganda to transport fuel into the country by water and once the company completes the construction of the second ship, they hope to build more two of the same nature and capacity to sustain the country and neighbouring countries demands.
As Uganda consumes an average of 6.5 million liters of fuel every day or just more than 40 million per week, Mahathi Infra Uganda Limited has a storage of 70 million liters in Bugiri-Bukasa, Entebbe.
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