French giant TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are pushing ahead with a 1,443-kilometre (900-mile) heated pipeline from the oilfields in the Lake Albert region of northwest Uganda to Tanzania's Indian Ocean port of Tanga.
On Wednesday, EACOP announced "it has closed the first tranche of external financing for the project provided by a syndicate of financial institutions including regional banks".
The funders include African Export Import Bank (Afrixem Bank), the Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd, two Ugandan banks and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.
Environmental groups told AFP on Thursday they are calling on the banks to withdraw their support for the project, claiming it threatens fragile ecosystems and local communities.
"We demand that the banks financing the project reconsider their position," said Samuel Okulony, executive director of the Ugandan-based Environment Governance Institute.
"It is disappointing, especially looking at banks which have been operating in Uganda... when we are facing climate change impact already," he said.
The project has been hailed by President Yoweri Museveni as an economic boon for the landlocked country where many live in poverty.
But activists have contested the project, pointing to forced evictions of communities, as well as cases of gender-based violence and exploitation carried out in the areas of its development, in addition to the environmental impact.
Ugandan lawyer Kato Tumusiime, who represents youth contesting the project, told AFP that protests would continue until the banks pull out.
"We know we many not stop the financing 100 percent but we have seen the impact of our actions against the negative effects of EACOP," he said, pointing to delays in the project's development.
str-jcp/jf/giv/bc
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