By William Madouk
Ministry of Investment has engaged B’smart, a Malaysian-East African company, to establish a dry port at Nimule border point.
Minister, Dr. Dheiu Mathok Diing revealed the development on Tuesday after meeting with a delegation from B’smart who jetted into the country to implement the project.
He recalled the numerous memoranda of understanding (MoU) inked between the Malaysian firm and South Sudan in 2021.
“We have revisited the implementation of those MoUs together with the other institution; they are going tomorrow to Nimule for the groundbreaking for the construction of a dry port,” said Mathok.
“And they will also construct the investment tower, which is a key project for us, and we believe that by implementing this important milestone regarding the investment environment, I know that things will move well,” he added.
Mr. Mathok assured the investors that his docket is committed to implementing the MoU in letter and spirit.
Furthermore, he added that, as a landlocked country, the dry port will increase the flow of goods, increase revenue collection, and create job opportunities in the country.
“We are depending mainly on revenue collected from non-oil, and the construction of that port would facilitate the movement of goods and services to South Sudan; it will create a lot of jobs for our people, and it will even ease the process of how trucks are to be allowed to come to and go out of South Sudan,” he noted.
According to Mathok, B’smart Company is planning to inaugurate several investment projects, such as the construction of an investment tower in Juba and the establishment of a cement factory worth $100.
Meanwhile, the president of B’smart Malaysian-East African Company, Mirzan Mahathir, said his company will be working on numerous projects and hopes to attract more investment.
“As we are growing as a developing country, it can also be replicated here; it seems the conditions are set to be able to do that,” Mahathir expressed.
Apart from the investment tower, B’smart Company has also proposed on the building materials site a cement factory, which would try to address the problem of the availability of cement and lower construction costs.
The company president noted that they are encouraged by the conducive investment environment provided by the Ministry of Investment.
“We are looking forward to continuing to develop more projects; we tried to propose to the government that it execute them,” he underscored. “And we hope that we will be able to show some success, and the success that we have in these projects will encourage others to come in and put in their capital as well to invest in this country.”
According to Mahathir, the success of those projects would also help other investors come and invest in the country.
Other projects planned by the company include oil and gas development as well as food security and livelihood initiatives.