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By SRS
Posted to the web on December 21, 2008 |
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December 21, 2008 (Malakal) - The Minister for Transport in the Government of National Unity says that the government is working hard to ensure that the construction of the peace road connecting Renk, Malakal and Sobat in Upper Nile state is speedily completed.
On Thursday, Phillip Thon said the section linking Paloch in Renk County and Malakal has been cleared of land-mines and covered with gravel, ready for tarmac. He said the Malakal – Sobat section, which needs to be graded and raised, will follow.
Minister Thon said that a bridge will be constructed to enable passengers and goods to cross to the other side of the Sobat River.
He also said that three small bridges will be constructed over Paloch, Adar and Akoka rivers. The three bridges will be ready before the CPA celebrations in January.
Thon said the project to construct the three bridges will be funded by a Chinese company at the cost of USD 220 million.
Thon also drew attention to the river transportation situation. He said that river transport needs to be improved for passengers traveling between Kosti and Juba via Malakal.
The minister deplored the conditions of the barges which are usually congested and have no toilet facilities. He said that many passengers die or get sick because of unhygienic conditions. There have even been reports of outbreaks of cholera on the barges.
[Phillip Thon]: “The situation of river transport is very miserable. Passengers sit on goods, bags, there is no accommodation. You just sit and put a shelter on your head. Some people fall into the river and loose their lives. No facilities for toilet, so time and again outbreaks of cholera and other diseases happen and many people die."
Minister Thon said the Kuwaiti company, Gulf Africa, which has undertaken the river transport project has renovated six barges as a preliminary step.
He said some of the barges are in Kosti and will be in use by 2009. Thon pointed out that river transport is cheaper than road transport and that it currently provides a good service for passengers traveling between Kosti, Malakal and Juba.
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