The East African Crude Oil Pipeline and the Buganda Kingdom broke ground Wednesday on a community stadium in this central Ugandan city, the latest local investment by the oil venture as its $5 billion export line moves toward completion.
The Kabaka Daudi Chwa II EACOP Stadium — which EACOP calls the Ssaza Buddu Stadium — will rise on 10 acres donated by the kingdom in Buddu County, with the company covering an undisclosed share of the cost. Ocean Teach Holdings Ltd. will build the sports center in three phases. The kingdom’s commercial arm, Buganda Investments and Commercial Undertakings Ltd., tendered the works, which closed to bidders in February.
The groundbreaking landed days before Buganda marks the 33rd anniversary of the coronation of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II on July 31, and the kingdom folded the stadium into those celebrations.
EACOP Deputy Managing Director John Habumugisha said the project fit the company’s approach along the pipeline route. “By supporting the sports centre, we are investing in initiatives that will deliver lasting value for communities in which we operate,” he said.
Buganda’s premier, or katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga said the kingdom valued partnerships that paired youth empowerment with growth. “Through Kabaka Daudi Chwa II EACOP Stadium Buddu, we are happy to work with EACOP to create a legacy of resilience, opportunity, and growth for our people,” he said. Ocean Teach Holdings Managing Director Oscar Asiimwe said the design would prioritize environmental safeguards and skilled jobs for young people.
The stadium grew out of a September 2025 agreement signed at the kingdom’s Bulange headquarters in Mengo, which also covered Ekibira Kya Kabaka, a 120-acre tree-planting scheme. Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa and EACOP Managing Director Guillaume Dulout attended the signing.
EACOP is designed to carry up to 230,000 barrels of crude a day along a 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) heated, buried line from Uganda’s Lake Albert basin to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. Of that, 296 kilometers run through Uganda across 10 districts, seven of them within Buganda. The venture followed a February 2022 final investment decision and is led by TotalEnergies with a 62% stake, alongside the Uganda National Oil Co. and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. at 15% each and China’s CNOOC at 8%.
Construction is in its final stretch. EACOP reported about 82% completion as of April, with commissioning targeted for July and first exports expected around October, which would make Uganda a crude exporter for the first time. The project has advanced despite earlier delays tied to financing, procurement and environmental opposition, and has drawn years of criticism from climate and rights groups over its carbon footprint and community displacement.
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