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By Benard Sanga
Posted to the web on October 7, 2009 |
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October 7, 2009 (Mombasa) – The Southern Sudan government plans to expand its infrastructure next year to link it to the port of Mombasa.
The expansion plan includes a railway line linking Juba and the Mombasa/Malaba one, according to the country’s Transport minister Anthony Makana.
This is part of a wider plan by the Southern Sudan government to push for its inclusion in the East Africa Community, said the minister.
The infrastructural link would also see the country included in the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Authority (NTTCA) — an entity charged with the responsibility of creating a seamless transport system in the sub-region.
In an interview, Mr Makana said his government would set aside 20 million dollars in its next financial budget for the construction of a standard gauge railway line from Juba to Rongai.
A feasibility study prepared by the German group states that the proposed railways would carry oil and minerals from Southern Sudan for export.
The line is part and parcel of the railway line network totalling 4,000km that the German group was supposed to build and manage.
The railway, said Mr Makana, would carry oil and minerals from Southern Sudan for export through the port of Mombasa.
The minister was in Mombasa last week for a workshop organised by NTCCA to tackle non-tariff barriers inhibiting the smooth flow of goods and traffic along the Northern Corridor.
He said he had also initiated talks with his Kenyan counterpart aimed at acquiring a parcel of land for the construction of a container terminal in Lamu.
This is in anticipation of the construction of a modern port in the area at the cost of US$16bn.
“Southern Sudan is bigger than East Africa Community countries combined and because of ongoing construction and due to the fact that the area is rich in minerals , it would offer good business to the region and especially Kenyan ports,” said Makana.
Accompanied by the Southern Sudan Ambassador to Kenya John Duku, the minister said he was also pushing for the setting up of a one-stop-centre for shippers from his country.
Southern Sudan says there are no official statistics on the amount of cargo that passes through the port of Mombasa because some of the figures released include those of “unscrupulous importers” who clear goods as destined for his country but dump them into the Kenyan market.
“We can only estimate that the amount of cargo is close to 80,000 containers each year. But this figure will go up once a seamless transport system is in place,” said the Minister, adding that the plan does not jeopardize the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Sudan is expected to conduct a referendum in January, 2011 ,that would determine whether or not the South would be autonomous.
Referendum plan
Mr Duku, however, warned that the CPA was in danger following the new tough conditions that are being pushed by their partners ahead of the referendum.
“Khartoum is saying the south can be independent if 90 per cent of vote cast supports the same and this is unacceptable because referendums all over the world are won by simple majority, for example 50 per cent plus 1 vote,” said Duku.
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