Despite challenges in securing debt from Western financial institutions, stakeholders of the EACOP project, including TotalEnergies and China's CNOOC, are investing additional funds to ensure the project’s continuation, Uganda’s energy minister, Ruth Nankabirwa, told a Western news agency on Friday.
She reportedly confirmed that securing financing has required extensive restructuring. Originally planned with 60% debt and 40% equity, the financing strategy has shifted to a nearly even split due to difficulties with Western banks. Six major banks, including BNP Paribas, Barclays, and Societe Generale, declined involvement under pressure from climate advocates, leaving a financing gap that project stakeholders have worked to fill through increased equity commitments.
According to Nankabirwa, TotalEnergies recently agreed to contribute an additional $400 million to the project, while Uganda has committed another $45 million and expects Tanzania to match that amount. This shift brings equity financing to 52%, reflecting the stakeholders’ resolve to prevent EACOP from stalling amid ongoing financial challenges.
In response to the funding gap, Nankabirwa traveled to Beijing to engage potential Chinese investors, signaling the growing role of non-Western financial partnerships in the project’s future.
"Now equity is surpassing debt, from 40% to now almost 52%, so you see how shareholders are committed to look for the money to make sure the project doesn't stall," she was quoted as saying. "As you look for money to put in, that means the debt, the external tranche, reduces."
A final decision on debt financing is expected by year-end, the report read.