August 28, 2018//-Tanzania and Uganda have signed an agreement for the construction of a natural gas pipeline, marking the first trans-border gas pipeline in East Africa.

The agreement was signed at the end of a three-day Joint Permanent Commission Summit held in Kampala, which was led by Tanzania’s foreign minister Augustine Mahiga and Uganda’s minister of energy Irene Muloni.

According to the EastAfrican, the deal is a culmination of work that began during the first Tanzania-Uganda meeting held in April 2017, in which the two countries agreed on a number of memoranda and co-operation frameworks.

This will be the first trans-border gas pipeline in East Africa since the extraction of natural gas commenced in 2004 at the Songosongo Island in Tanzania’s southern region of Lindi.

Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) managing director Kapuulya Musomba, told The EastAfrican that he is confident the pipeline construction will be successful given the expertise and experience gained through the construction and servicing of two pipelines – the 532km Mtwara-Dar es Salaam one and the crude oil pipeline that is underway.

Musomba said apart from carrying natural gas to Uganda, the pipeline will distribute the product along the route.“About 10 to 15 Tanzania regions will benefit from the pipeline that will also serve as a catalyst for oil and gas exploration,” Musomba said.

He did not reveal the source force funding for the project. The gas to be transmitted is meant for power generation for industrial and domestic use.