Uganda expects construction of a $3.5 billion crude export pipeline to start in the first half of next year, Energy Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu said.

A final investment decision and the start of construction are both expected to happen by the end of June, the minister said during an online oil conference Wednesday. Building the 1,445-kilometer pipeline, which stretches from Uganda’s oil fields to Tanzania’s Tanga port, is expected to take three years.

Total SA, which controls two third of Uganda’s oil discoveries, is leading the pipeline project along with Chinese partner Cnooc Ltd. and the two East African states.

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline will export 216,000 barrels a day at peak production, according to its website.

A final investment decision for the oil fields will unlock an investment of at least $10 billion in developing the Tilenga and Kingfisher deposits, the minister said.