Government of Southern Sudan
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JAPANESE US$12 MILLION CONTRIBUTION HELPS WFP REBUILD ROADS IN SOUTH SUDAN
Wed, January 30 2008
By Nyibol Deng [Juba, Sudan]

On January 28th the Japanese ambassador to Sudan Mr Ishii arrived in Juba, southern Sudan for the purpose of attending the signing ceremony that was to be held on January 29th at the ministry of Transport and Roads near Jebel Kajur. The signing was between the WFP representative to Sudan Mr. Kenro Oshidari and the Japanese Ambassador Mr Ishii, witnessed by H.E Minister of Transport and Road David Deng Athorbei and with the presence of Dr. Wani from the Government of Southern Sudan.

The agreement involved a sum of 12 million USD to be donated for the building of new roads within southern Sudan , maintaining previously built roads and also the clearing of landmines. H.E David Deng Athorbei expressed how pleased he was in receiving the news of the signing ceremony “…when I heard about the signing between Japan and WFP I was very excited, because roads are a number one problem we face in southern Sudan . I believe the funds will go a long way….”



WFP NEWS RELEASE:
The United Nations Food Program thanked the Government of Japan for 12 million US dollars as a contribution to the World Food Program (WFP) for road repair and mine removal project supporting the peace and recovery in southern Sudan.

The Japanese grant will be used to build 85 kilometres of new roads and maintain 595 kilometers of previously re-built roads, making it easier to deliver vital food assistance and ensuring the roads remain usuable during the rainy season.

“For many years, WFP delivered food assistance to southern Sudan by air drops. This project started as a way to efficiently deliver food by road – but it has also opened up local markets and is helping to restore food independence for people returning back to their communities. We are extremely grateful to Japan for supporting this effort,” Kenro Oshidari the WFP representative in Sudan mentioned.

Southern Sudan has 5,500 kilometers of main roads and a further 7,500 kilometers of feeder roads – most of them in a state of serious disrepair. Since 2004, WFP’s Emergency Road Repair and demining project has opened up more than 2,200 kilometers of roads and removed about 500 landmines and 230,000 unexploded ordnance left over after the 21 year civil war that ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005.

About 3,100 southern Sudanese have been employed on the roads project and a further 8,258 people participated in WFP “Food for Work” programmes connected to the project.

The roads to be repaired with the new Japanese grant stretch from the southern town of Yei near the Ugandan border northwards through the important commercial towns of Faraksika and Rumbek and then eastward to the town of Yirol , in Lakes State .

The WFP roads is expected to continue until 2009, with a total budget of US$246 million. Once complete, it will be possible to travel by road from the southern borders of Sudan to Khartoum and onto Egypt for the first time in a generation.

 

 

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