South Sudanese Government has embarked on a road construction project that will see the road networks linking Juba to Bor in Jonglei state and Rumbek in Lakes state constructed.
China’s Exim Bank will make available USD 1bn for the project, which will cover the road from Juba-Magala-Gamenza-Bor and Juba-Teregeke-Yirol-Rumbek road. South Sudan has only around 300 kilometers of paved roads of which a third are in the capital city of Juba. The 192 Km Juba-Nimule highway is the only paved road in the country and was constructed at a cost of USD 220m.
The new road construction project is highly welcome, considering the poor state of roads in the country. Most are covered with potholes and unstable bridges. This has caused loss of business due to inefficient means of goods transportation. Most trucks ferrying goods usually get stuck on the roads with most locals not coming to the aid of drivers which costs them time and money to repair damaged trucks. Most South Sudanese depend on road transport due to the poor state of other forms of transport and high air fares.
The Juba-Bor road is currently under construction from last month and it is expected that once complete, it will reduce the price of commodities in the country – which have in the recent years, sky-rocketed due to poor state of roads. The roads have also been marred with insecurity from attacks by armed robbers and inter-clan revenge attacks.
