Oil and Gas Forum Gives Logistics Players Marketing Platform
Kampala — More than 800,000 tonnes of equipment is expected to be transported to the Albertine oil region as Uganda seeks to produce first oil by 2020 thus presenting a huge opportunity for the freight and logistics industry.
This comes after the launch of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the crude export pipeline from Hoima to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania and the same for Nwoya and Buliisa exploration areas.
In order to prepare for this opportunity, players in both the freight and logistics industry the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) and Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP), are jointly organising an inaugural regional Logistics EXPO 2017 and the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Convention in Kampala to run from April 25 to 27.
The joint event will be held under two themes: “Transforming Uganda into a Regional Logistics Hub – What is your role?” and “Oil & Gas Doors Open in Uganda”.
Speaking at a media briefing in Kampala on Monday, the chairman-Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, Mr Elly Karuhanga, said: “For this task to be realised, the logistics industry has to attain very high capacity and become extremely efficient.”
Mr Karuhanga said, with more than 1,000 delegates expected from across the world, the symposium will present an opportunity for joint-venture partnerships within the logistics industry, between local players and their large international counterparts to build the capacity needed to serve the oil industry. Speaking of the importance of collaborating with the oil and gas sector, Ms Jennifer Mwijukye, the outgoing chairperson of the UFFA, acknowledged the need to join forces and define strategic economic interventions that can spur sustained economic growth in Uganda.
“Both the logistics and oil industries believe that transforming Uganda into a regional logistics hub will significantly help the country attain its middle income aspirations,” Mwijukye said.
She added: “It’s only natural that being the main organisation in transport and logistics, the UFFA takes the lead in championing the call for Uganda’s transformation into a logistics hub.”
Ms Merian Sebunya, a board member of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), one of the partners of the event, said: “Uganda’s key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, mining and very soon oil, require transportation of large quantities of freight of low to medium value.”
She added: “This has compelled the PSFU to establish the National Logistics Platform, with support from Trademark East Africa, that seeks to develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance the logistics industry.”
SOURCE: The monitor
