Egyptian company begins river clearance project in Unity State

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich March 21, 2012 (BENTIU) – Work began last week on a $26.6 million five year project to clear the rivers of Greater Bahr-el Gazal and Unity State to allow them to be navigable by boat.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation has signed memorandums of understanding with the Egyptian Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the work will be carried out by the MAM Group an Egyptian company. William Gatjang Gieng, Unity State Minister of Environments and Natural Resources in Unity, said that the teams from the Egyptian company are working to deepen the river to allow more boats to transport goods and people. South Sudan has next to no infrastructure but relies heavily on importing foods and other goods. The closure of the border with north Sudan since South Sudan’s independence in July last year has led to massive increases in the cost of goods. This has especially effected states like Unity which border Sudan. Goods now have to be transported all the way from Uganda and Kenya on South Sudan’s southern border. Fuel increases, poor transport networks and border check points have culminated in high prices of some consumer goods trebling over the last year. The government hopes that improving river transport will allow goods and services to flow more freely and make it easier to trade and do business. One team will dredge the Naam River from Rubkotna junction in Unity State to Lake No just north of the Sudd swamp, where the Bahr el Ghazal River meets the River Kiir [also known as the Bahr el Arab]. Another project will start from Wetmachar Achol in Wau, the capital of Western Bahr el Ghazal State, to Wangkeay bridge. The waterways in Unity State were more passable in the 1980’s but became blocked during South Sudan’s two-decade war with Khartoum, now only allowing small shallow boats to pass. Mohamed Rajaf, a retired General from the Egyptian army, has been contracted by the Egyptian government to complete the project. He confirmed that his company have already started operations in the Unity State.

He said that political tensions between Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan had delayed the project by about five months. The dredging barges for the project were constructed in Alexandria, Egypt then transported to Kosti a Sudanese town on the White Nile over land. In Kosti the barges were constructed and went south along the White Nile into South Sudan and to Malakal in Upper Nile State. From there the barges travelled to Lake No and then onto Rubkotna junction in Unity state. South Sudan and its counterpart the Egyptian government will officially inaugurate Unity State project by next week. (ST)

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