Uganda and South Sudan have resolved to fast-track plans to immediately build a modern railway line linking northern Ugandan’s Gulu city and Juba via Nimule.

This was disclosed Friday following a meeting between Ugandan ambassador to South Sudan and the adviser to president Salva Kiir, Dr. Costello Garang.

Speaking after the meeting, Ambassador Ronnie Balya said being the cheapest means of transport, railway investments needed to be prioritized in the region to bolster trade.

He stated the Gulu-Juba railway project will start soon.

“This is a very important project that we are going to work on together to make sure our people in the two countries benefit from this project.”

“We need good a railway, we need good roads, we need good communication line and we need power in this region so that we can develop the way other countries develop.”

For his part, South Sudan adviser to President Salva Kiir, Dr. Costello Garang said “because of the difficulty and conflict in South Sudan after the independence, the whole things got disrupted, we want to pick them up now.”

Garang futhure said “I will soon go to Uganda and if possible we can start immediately.”

The 208-km high-speed railway line is to be constructed by a German company, Jahre Thormahlem Schwei-Btechnik, which has presented its feasibility study.

The Gulu-Juba line is estimated to cost 688 million Euros (about 800 million US dollars).