General view of the Tema oil refinery near Ghana’s capital Accra…PHOTO BY REUTERS

The construction of Uganda’s oil refinery in the western district of Hoima and the 205 kilometer pipeline that will carry processed gas products to the prospective assembly point in Buloba, 14 kilometers out of Kampala will take close to five years, the contractor confirmed last week.

Speaking at the Uganda Oil and gas convention, Andrey Kozenyashev, the regional representative in East Africa for RT Global Resources, a Russian firm that won bid for the project said it would take a much longer period to carry out feasibility studies and designs in order to deliver to the terms of the concession than earlier speculated.

The event was organized by Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP)

Kozenyashev says designs alone may take close to two years before actual construction can start. By this this calculation, perhaps Uganda’s finished oil products will hit the market by 2020

“After signing the agreement, it will take one and a half years to do the designs,” he said

“Actual construction of the refinery is expected to start at the end of 2016 or early 2017. When we start, it will take three years to complete it”, he added

However, government is still under a series of negotiations with the firm to get a fair share in the $4 billion. The negotiations are speculated to be finalized in May.

There are also negotiations on the part of government for the acquisition of the land onto which to build the 202 kilometer pipeline stretch from refinery town in Hoima