Nairobi, March 26 -- The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) has inaugurated a coating plant, a facility that will prepare and insulate all the line pipes to be laid on the 1,443 km-long route from Hoima in western Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

Eacop, which is overseeing the construction and management of the pipeline, said Tuesday that the completion of the thermal insulation plant, along with the signing of the corridor lease agreement, was "a milestone on the construction stage" of the project.

The plant, located at Sojo village, Nzega District, Tabora region, will insulate the line pipes and the 86,000-line pipe joints before installation along the route in Uganda and Tanzania.

The thermal insulation, similar to a ther...