The USAID-funded Sudan Infrastructure Services Project provides critical public infrastructure and capacity building activities throughout Sudan in support of the successful implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and development of South Sudan. As USAID’s implementing partner, The Louis Berger Group works in collaboration with the Republic of South Sudan to provide support for a full range of physical and institutional needs, capacity building, developmental assistance, institutional strengthening and sustainable infrastructure development in the transport, urban water and sanitation, public buildings, and energy and natural resources sectors.
One of the project’s main objectives is the rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of roads and bridges to assist the people of South Sudan develop a variety of road transport facilities, improve roads and provide all-weather access to remote communities. The project enhances commercial, social and economic development of the region and facilitates relief, resettlement and good governance in the wake of two decades of civil war.
LBG’s signature project in South Sudan is the 192-kilometer Juba-Nimule Road. Completed by LBG and its subcontractors in June 2012, it is the largest infrastructure project ever built in South Sudan and the young nation’s first paved highway. The road has reduced travel time between Juba and Nimule at the Ugandan border from eight hours to less than three hours, linking Juba to Uganda and providing the shortest, most efficient route to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
Reconstruction of the Juba-Nimule Road included a feasibility study, engineering studies, demining and an emergency repair and maintenance program that restored eight dangerous, decades-old bridges and 192 kilometers of road surface to a safe working condition. The project required replacement of bridges and reconstruction of the roadway, grading and tarmacking the road and construction of eight new bridges built to modern standards to handle truck traffic. A road safety education program also was implemented and awarded the 2011 International Road Federation global achievement award on road safety.
LBG staff in Juba performed the detailed roadway designs, including all drainage structures, and provided construction management services for the project. We used local and regional subcontractors to construct the roads and bridges, and we worked with our client and the local industry to maximize the involvement of local companies. The project has created employment and training opportunities for South Sudanese communities, thereby increasing stability and fostering local economic development.
As part of the project’s capacity building component, LBG worked closely with the Government of South Sudan Ministry of Roads and Bridges to establish the South Sudan Roads Authority, the agency charged to maintain and support South Sudan’s growing road network.
Related Links: SISP Project Website