“Maybe as we build the pipeline for crude [oil], we could also build a pipeline for gas to come from Tanzania [to] go to the west [of Uganda] to help us set up the iron and steel industry,” she said.
The gas, she said, will be used as a reducing agent in the iron and steel industry.
A gas factory in Tanzania:PHOTO BY NMG | THE CITIZEN
However, due to lack of a developed iron and steel sector ,Uganda spends much on imports related products from countries like China.
By 2011, Uganda was spending about $280m (Shs1 trillion) annually to import iron and steel products as stated in the August 2015 issue of the Oil in Uganda magazine.
The government of Uganda in 2011 banned the export of unprocessed minerals so as to contribute to the development of Uganda’s steel industry – since investors would be left with no option but to build steel factories in Uganda(Daily Monitor,2012)
Tanzania has 1.1 billion cubic metres of natural gas, according to the CIA World Fact Book, which was last updated in January 2018.
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