Two companies bidding for the construction of the US$ 4.27 billion oil refinery project have been shortlisted by Government.
Irene Muloni, Energy Minister, says four companies had submitted bids from the project, but two of them were dropped. She however declined to reveal the names of the shortlisted companies, saying they will announce the winner by the end of June.
However, sources at the Ministry intimated to us that the companies are; Maire Tecnimot from Italy, IESCO from Turkey, Yatra Ventures LLC and Apro from USA, Chinese firm Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group, Profundo Spain and a Canadian and Ugandan consortium.
Muloni says negotiations with the two shortlisted firms will commence at the beginning of this week.
This is the second time that government is trying to find a firm to construct the 60,000 barrels-a-day project refinery at Kabale in Hoima. Previously, government had selected a consortium led by RT Global Resources of Russia but the Russians pulled out.
The government is racing against time to have oil out of the ground by 2020. Meanwhile a call for tenders for Enabling Infrastructure design is on. The awarding process is expected to be completed by mid-next month.
Enabling Infrastructure are the works required ahead of any major engineering and construction work, including local access, bush clearing, site preparation, fencing and other tasks of a similar nature, for which Ugandan companies are expected to be involved.
