MWE Correspondent
The Tanzanian government has announced its intention to acquire approximately 118.7 acres of land for public purposes to facilitate the implementation of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project across several regions of the country.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Dr Leonard Akwilapo, in a Government Gazette dated September 4, 2026.
According to the notice, the land identified for acquisition is located across 40 villages, 32 wards and 20 districts in the regions of Kagera, Geita, Tabora, Singida, Manyara, Dodoma and Tanga.
The government has instructed individuals and other parties who have rights or interests in the affected land to submit details and evidence supporting their claims to the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development.
The notice gives affected landholders six weeks from the date of publication to submit their claims, meaning the deadline falls on October 16, 2026.
The acquisition is being undertaken under Tanzania’s Land Acquisition Act, with the government stating that the land is required for the implementation of the EACOP project.
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The land acquisition announcement comes as construction of EACOP enters its final stages.
EACOP Ltd announced on September 1, 2026, that the project had reached 92.7 percent overall completion, following an assessment of construction progress at Pump Station 1 in Hoima, Uganda.
The pipeline is designed to stretch approximately 1,443 kilometres, connecting Kabaale-Hoima in Uganda with the Chongoleani Peninsula near Tanga on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. About 1,147 kilometres of the pipeline will run through Tanzania, while 296 kilometres will be located in Uganda.
The project will include pumping stations, pressure-reduction facilities and a marine export terminal in Tanzania. EACOP’s official project information currently states that the pipeline will have a peak capacity of 246,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The project is jointly owned by TotalEnergies with 62 percent, Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) with 15 percent, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) with 15 percent, and CNOOC with 8 percent.
Land acquisition has been a major component of EACOP’s implementation in Tanzania. Government information previously indicated that thousands of Project Affected Persons were involved in the land acquisition process, with compensation payments being undertaken as the project progressed.
The latest government notice therefore represents another stage in securing land required for project-related infrastructure and associated works.
Beyond the pipeline itself, EACOP involves a broader export system linking Uganda’s oil-producing areas to the Tanzanian coast. The project is expected to transport Uganda’s crude oil to international markets through the marine export terminal at Chongoleani near Tanga.
The project has also generated employment and training opportunities in both Tanzania and Uganda.
EACOP reported in March 2025 that more than 8,000 Ugandan and Tanzanian citizens had been employed on the project at that stage, alongside about 400,000 man-hours of training.
By September 2026, EACOP said more than 12,000 people had been directly employed across the wider EACOP project, including more than 4,000 Ugandans.
Tanzanian government officials have also highlighted EACOP among strategic projects contributing to employment, skills development and opportunities for local workers and businesses.
With construction now reported at 92.7 percent, the latest land acquisition notice comes at a critical phase of the project as Tanzania and Uganda move closer to completing the infrastructure intended to connect Uganda’s oil resources with the export terminal at Tanga.
