Improving Land Travel
More funds for new roads in southern Sudan
Information was received from Juba
that over US$100 million in grant and soft-loan pledges have been recorded and are aimed towards the reconstruction of the road between Gulu in northern Uganda and via Nimule to Juba, the capital of the southern Sudan. The main funders are Japan and the World Bank, the latter of which is already funding major infrastructural projects in the south.
Construction is expected to commence by late 2010 after all the tenders have been reviewed and awarded to construction companies.
Already several bridges have been reconstructed and re-opened on the road between Juba and Nimule, and when the two new roads link up, it is expected that journey time between say Kampala and Juba will be cut to less than a day, inclusive of border formalities. Presently, especially after heavy rains, such a journey can take several days, as vehicles are stuck in places, which swiftly become impassable when cars or lorries get bogged down.
Meanwhile, elections in the south, in fact the entire country, are due for April 11, i.e., the week after Easter, and sources in Juba have pointed out that while many people will be traveling to their home areas for voting, business is expected to continue and visitors will be welcome over that period of time.
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