Southern Sudan to build Sh800m port

By Philip Mwakio

The Government of Southern Sudan will construct its first modern port along the White Nile river in Juba at a cost of Sh800 million.

A senior government official told The Standard that Damien Shipyard has been contracted to do the work, which will take one year to complete.

Southern Sudan’s Director General for River Transport under the Ministry of Transport and Roads, Abdu Silye, said dredging along the river course will be required in some locations to make it more navigable.

The official was in Mombasa to attend a Maritime Safety and Port Security workshop organised by the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) and the Southern African Development Community.

"There are no clear navigation marks along the river channels expecially from the Sudd area, Bor and Chambe. It is only a qualified coxwain who can manouvre through the tricky channels,’’ the official said.

He said merchandise goods from the North are transported to Southern Sudan along the river hence the resource —which traverses Sudan from the South to the North— provides an important inland transport.

Major impediment

Eng Silye added that the river has always been a key navigation route through which huge amounts of commodities pass, but is now silted and its capacity reduced.

"Its usefulness has been limited by natural features, including a number of waterfalls and silted shallow stretches that restrict the carrying capacities, especially during the period of low water and river sharp bends,’’ Eng Silye says.

The spread of water hyacinth and lack of navigational aids is also a major impediment.

Silye appealed to PMAESA to which Southern Sudan is an associate member, to support his Government in development activities.

They include training programme for member States, tracking and communication equipment for inland ports to provide adequate security and information systems.

 

 

Read all about:

 

 

---