Oil cash delay South Sudan road repairs
JUBA - Smaller than expected oil revenues for semi-autonomous southern Sudan have delayed efforts to repair roads in the capital Juba, a government official said.
JUBA - Smaller than expected oil revenues for semi-autonomous southern Sudan have delayed efforts to repair roads in the capital Juba, a government official said.
Cash shortages also mean that renovation of the south’s wider road network, vital to trade and development of the area, may also be delayed, Daniel Wani, the Under Secretary for the south’s Ministry of Transport and Roads, explained.
“The Juba roads were meant to be finished by July this year, but now they will be finished in the middle of next year if all goes well,†he said.
“In 2006, we had to carry forward most of the work planned to this year, and it looks like we’re going to carry the same work to next year,†Wani explained.
A north-south peace deal signed in 2005 ended more than 20 years of conflict in Sudan that had left what little infrastructure the south had in tatters.
Under the sealed agreement, the south receives 50% of profits from oil revenue generated in its area, expected to be around $120m a month. However, figures have dropped as low as $28.8m in March.
Many of the area’s roads are little more than tracks in the bush, and 50-year-old bridges look unlikely to sustain heavy trucks bringing in vital goods to the landlocked south.
Reuters
Cash shortages also mean that renovation of the south’s wider road network, vital to trade and development of the area, may also be delayed, Daniel Wani, the Under Secretary for the south’s Ministry of Transport and Roads, explained.
“The Juba roads were meant to be finished by July this year, but now they will be finished in the middle of next year if all goes well,†he said.
“In 2006, we had to carry forward most of the work planned to this year, and it looks like we’re going to carry the same work to next year,†Wani explained.
A north-south peace deal signed in 2005 ended more than 20 years of conflict in Sudan that had left what little infrastructure the south had in tatters.
Under the sealed agreement, the south receives 50% of profits from oil revenue generated in its area, expected to be around $120m a month. However, figures have dropped as low as $28.8m in March.
Many of the area’s roads are little more than tracks in the bush, and 50-year-old bridges look unlikely to sustain heavy trucks bringing in vital goods to the landlocked south.
Reuters