By Ephraim Modi D.S
On the opening seminar on road, bridge construction and maintenance yesterday in Juba, Mr. MA Wenjun, Charge D’affaires of the Chinese Embassy said that the construction of Juba-Rumbek Road will open at the end of this month.
Juba-Rumbek Road construction started in 2019 and was expected to be completed within 3 years according to the project details from Shyandong Hi-speed Nile Investment and Development Company and connects.
The Highway connects the national capital Juba in Central Equatoria State to Bahr el Ghazal region.
Addressing participants at the roads and bridges construction seminar in Juba, Wenjun highlighted a number of importance of the road to the people and tipped that the road has reached its peak to the opening for use at the end of this month.
“The construction has now reached Terekeka and it will open to traffic at the end of this month,” he affirmed.
He said infrastructure play a crucial role for every country in its economic and social development.
Wenjun added that Juba-Rumbek road project is being implemented by the Ministry of Roads and Bridges in partnership with Shandong Hi-speed Company.
He said the road will make profound changes for the transportation, trade development and social cohesion along the road.
“We’re glad to see that in addition to the ongoing construction of the road, the Shandong Hi-speed company also attached importance on capacity building and training on its local staff and partners, enabling them to make bigger contribution on project management and facilities maintenance following the progressing of different infrastructure projects in the country,” he stated.
He called for team work and admitted that China has always been a staunch supporter, participant, and contributor to the peace process in the country.
Wenjun said going forward will see China continue to play a constructive role and support the country’s peace and development with concrete actions in order to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.
He further noted that in the recent years, China assisted and undertook several road and bridge construction projects in South Sudan including Jur River Bridge project in the country.
Juba-Rumbek highway with a total length of 392 kilometers is the highest priority infrastructure project in South Sudan that connects two thirds of the country’s population and is of great economic, political and social importance.
In May 2020, the government put the project on standstill after too much rains and floods washed away parts of the newly-spread asphalt.
The project undertook a review and redesigning that led the government to permit the company to resume construction in December 2020.