The terminal itself is strategically sensible and fits neatly into the wider first-oil infrastructure story. But the siting issue illustrates strategic infrastructure can still be poorly integrated into its physical environment.

The planned 700,000-barrel-per-day facility would be the largest refinery in East Africa if completed. It is expected to supply petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring markets, including Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The issue also exposes a wider fragmentation in Uganda’s methane governance. Methane is not unique to petroleum: it arises from landfills, wastewater, agriculture and other activities, and poor management can create both climate and safety risks. Uganda already regulates some of these sources separately, but the renewed focus on petroleum methane highlights the absence of a visibly coherent cross-sector approach

The 1,443 km East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), running from Kabaale in Hoima to Tanzania’s Tanga coast, is moving into its final construction stages.

As Uganda hits a reported 99% readiness for its first commercial oil production, the construction industry is confronting a significant strategic transition. As the focus moves from building the pipeline to running it, the Ugandan construction sector must ensure its expertise remains relevant to a post-commissioning environment, ensuring the legacy of the oil boom continues long after the first barrel flows.

Uganda’s oil milestone is often presented as a story of barrels, pipelines, and timelines, but for the construction industry, it is really a story about the shape of the market after the buildout rush. The country’s reported 99% readiness for first oil should not be read as the end of opportunity; it should be read as a pivot point, where the industry moves from heavy civil works into a more disciplined era of maintenance, compliance, and specialized industrial services. ​ Th