The Ugandan government has begun training Ugandans in welding techniques to fill some of the 10,000 jobs expected to be created by the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
According to Linda Nalubanga, the Senior National Content Officer responsible for manpower regulation at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the project will require approximately 140 welders, all of whom will be Ugandans.
She stated that the training of 36 welders has already started with the aim of increasing national content and developing local capacity in Uganda.
“As the project progresses, they will keep adding a number of welders to be trained. We’ve heard about the national content pillars which is capacity building, knowledge transfer, employment of Ugandans as well as provision of goods and services,” she said.
The EACOP is a 1,443-kilometer crude oil export pipeline that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale to Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near the Tanga port in Tanzania.
