By Bida Elly David
Cabinet has temporarily suspended the construction of the Juba River Port project due to legal obstacles.
Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the $38 million project, has faced resistance from some government officials and individuals who own land at the proposed site.
Landowners have filed lawsuits to block the planned evictions required for the port’s development.
The port project was intended to upgrade the facilities along the Juba River to handle both passenger and cargo transportation more efficiently.
However, the legal disputes have now forced the government to pause the construction plans.
Addressing journalists after the regular council of ministers meeting, Jacob Korok Maijuk, the deputy national minister of information, said that the major challenge is the presence of other government personnel within the fences of the project site.
“There was a lot of resistance by the personnel in the fences of the project site; the minister tabled it before the council so that they could find guidance,” he told reporters on Friday.
Furthermore, another challenge stated by the minister was that part of the land for the project was initially allotted as plots to people, making it difficult for the project to kick-start.
“Within the sites of the project, there are plots allotted to individuals, so there are several cases,” Korok stated.
According to him, the cases are still before justice, awaiting judgment.
“The case is still in court for the issue to be resolved, so the council of ministers decided that the project should be delayed until the court resolves it,” he said.
He explained that the court will be the one through their ruling to judge the fate of who owns the land, and thereafter the decision will be made.
“The government advised the Ministry of Transport to set up the legal process out of the council of ministers to vacate the occupants at the designated port,” he said.
A river port is a docking station built along a waterway with facilities for loading and unloading ships carrying goods being transported through water vessels to various designated destinations along the river.