South Sudan’s national transport ministry claims Central Equatoria delays Juba airport expansion
July 24,2015 (JUBA) -The national ministry of roads and transport in South Sudan has on Friday blamed the host state of Central Equatoria for the delay in completing construction of Juba International Airport due to lack of land required for the airport expansion.
“The work would have been finished by now but because the Central Equatoria has not been responsive to the request to expand the airport has put on hold the construction activities,” said David Martin, undersecretary at the ministry of roads and transport.
Martin said several repeated requests to the government of Central Equatoria state seeking provision and allocation of at least 1.8 kilometres of land to complete the extension of the airport have been made since September 2014, but no response.
“The work at the airport is not progressing because the ministry has not until [now] received any response from the government of Central Equatoria state permitting the company to proceed,” Martin claimed.
“This is in spite of so many requests which have been made. Surveyors came but up to now, the ministry did not receive a permit for the company to start working,” he told reporters on Friday.
The top civil servant in the transport ministry was reacting to media reports about the lack of progress of work at Juba airport which appeared to have been one of the long running government projects and for which many revenues have been allocated for completion yet it continued to cause the nation to spend despite previous allocations.
The official attributed the delay to host of different issues, including financial and resources but now the government has contracted China Harbors Engineering Company to extend the airport runway by 700 meters.
Martin added at least 95% of the work has been completed, remaining only a land for installation of a lighting system. “Once the runway approach lights are installed, the airport will be operational 24/7,” he said.
The land is outside the airport demarcation and is under the Central Equatoria state. To extend beyond what has been allocated to the airport required approval from the state government, which has been reluctant to do so.
Meanwhile the deputy manager of business department at China Harbor Engineering Company, Song Yi, expressed their readiness and commitment to finishing work at the airport within shortest time possible if they were to be permitted to extend their activities beyond the permitted parameters of the Juba airport.
“If we do not have the access to the area and we cannot install the approaching light, there is no way for landing if there is no land for the approaching lights system. The airport will not be 24 hours operational,” he explained.
Sudan Tribune was unable to get comments reacting to the allegations raised by the national ministry of transport despite several attempts to reach Central Equatoria state’s minister of physical infrastructure.
(ST)