Isaac Khisa and Agencies, The Monitor, www.africa.com,

31 December 2010

Kampala - China will continue to assist Uganda in the development of its infrastructure and oil industry, Mr Sun Heping, the Chinese ambassador to Uganda has said.

"The Chinese government has attached great importance to the development of infrastructure in Africa, Uganda in particular, and made it one of the key areas of cooperation in the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum," Mr Sun told a Chinese news agency recently.

He said the cooperation has provided a platform for China and African countries to have dialogues and implement several projects covering infrastructure, education and health funded by grants and preferential loans.

In close touch

He said the Chinese and Ugandan governments have been in close touch on the proposed Kampala-Entebbe highway project, the first in the country, which is expected to cost about $350 million. "The project is currently in preparations stage and will get underway in 2011 if everything keeps at the current pace," he said.

The highway funded by preferential loan from China is to provide an alternative route linking the country's capital and its international airport at Entebbe, 40 kilometres south of Kampala.

China is also committed to working with Uganda in its nascent oil industry as China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is seeking to partner with Total and Tullow to build an oil refinery in the western part of the country.

President Museveni, is known to be in favour of building the country's own oil industry with a complete chain of finished oil products. "China aims to assist Uganda build its own oil industry through participation in the production of oil products and assisting the country to attain its Millennium Development Goals before 2015 the Unites Nations' target years," said Mr Heping.

Uganda hit oil in the western part of the country in the Albertine Graben region in 2006. So far, Tullow, has discovered about one billion barrels of crude oil in the area. Tullow estimates that Uganda has a further potential of 1.2 billion barrels more in the Albertine basin which also borders the Democratic Republic of Congo.