While citizens in developed countries can take their infrastructure for granted, for the people in the Republic of South Sudan it’s a different story – they get to watch their country’s infrastructure emerge, building by building, road by road.
Infrastructure is crucial for any country – without well-developed infrastructure in place, there can be very little progress on any level.
The South Sudanese government realizes the importance of this, and now that there’s some stability in the county, with the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity, the administration has turned its focus inwards – to developing the country.
While the march to progress is temporarily delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government stands by its commitment to infrastructure development.
The administration is allocating a portion of its oil income to infrastructure projects, including electricity, clean water and several major highways.
Roads
The government is working on developing a national network of roads which will help diversify the economy, reducing its over-dependence on oil.
The Hon. Eng. Awow Daniel Chuang, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum acknowledges that the logistics need work, “Logistics is one of our biggest problems that we are trying to solve. Last year, we started work on national roads that will connect South Sudan to both Ethiopia and Sudan. This will assist with the movement of goods and materials, especially to the oil fields which are very close to the borders of both countries. Once completed, we will at least have another option to transport critical materials.”
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To this end. construction is planned on several major roads, including the Juba-Bahr El-Ghazal Highway, the Juba-Bor-Malakal Highway, the Juba-Yambio Highway and the Juba-Nadapal Highway. One of the more anticipated projects is the Kenya-South Sudan highway, which will run from the Kenyan border in the south-east, all the way to the border with Sudan. This project has been prioritised as it is part of the East African Community road network and will help to boost intra-regional trade between the two countries which has been hampered due to poor quality roads.
Electricity
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has invested US$38 million in the Juba Power Distribution System Rehabilitation and Expansion Project. Reliable electricity supply hasn’t been available in the capital city of Juba since the country won its independence in 2011 after years of civil war. The Bank’s initial plan was to complete the project at the end of 2020, however, due to the Coronavirus, this has been delayed. The project, which consists of a 145km medium voltage distribution line and a 250km low voltage distribution line with 145 new transformers, will connect at least 20 000 domestic and commercial users.
While Eritrean firm, Ezra Construction & Development Group Co. LTD is developing a 100MW power generation plant at Kondokoro, in Juba City. The plant, of which the first phase was commissioned and made operational in November 2019, will initially provide around 30 000 households with electricity.
Sanitation
Again, the African Development Bank stepped up and in June 2019 committed to providing US$24.7 million to finance the South Sudan Strategic Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project. This project involves the rehabilitation of approximately 50km of Juba’s distribution network, including metering and public water collection outlets. This also includes the development of solar-powered water distributions systems, the feasibility and engineering design for two other towns as well as sanitation and hygiene promotion for the rural communities surrounding Juba. This project will make a big difference, as it will improve the lives of some 300 000 people in Juba and the surrounding rural Jubek state.
Given the government’s commitment to the country, South Sudan is on the rise and one to watch.
