SUDANESE President Omar al-Beshir on Monday inaugurated a $1-billion pipeline in the central town of Higleig that will carry the country’s oil to the coast for export. The oil is to begin flowing on Monday to the specially built Red Sea harbour of Beshair. ”The petroleum will be instrumental in achievement of prosperity and will help a great deal in our development projects,” Beshir noted in his inaugural speech. The 1600km pipeline, costing about $1-billion, was built by a consortium of Chinese, German, Argentine, British and Malaysian companies with a total pumping capacity of 450000 barrels per day (bpd), according to sources in the energy and mining ministry. Initially, the pipeline, 70cm in diameter, will pump 150000 bpd, the sources said. It will connect a refinery at Al Obeid, North Kordofan, and another outside the capital Khartoum to Beshair.