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South Sudan’s Ministry of Information has proposed a $9.3 million budget to fund the design phase of the country’s National Fiber Optics Telecommunication Network project.

Thomas Gatkuoth Nyak, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, announced on Friday, following a high-level steering committee meeting chaired by Deputy Minister David Yau Yau in Juba.

According to Gatkuoth, the $9.3 million is part of a larger $67 million project aimed at building a national fiber-optic backbone to enhance digital connectivity across the country.

“A special budget is allocated out of the main budget, which is 67 million. A budget of approximately 9.3 million is allocated for this year to make all the necessary preparations,” he said>

“We hope everything will be on track and we will begin the first stage of the project this year, before moving into the next year.”

He said the funding will support initial design preparations and the rollout of the first phase, which will be followed by last-mile connectivity and related services in subsequent phases.

This initiative aligns with a broader government plan to improve internet access and establish South Sudan as a regional digital hub.

Speaking at the African Innovation Summit in Addis Ababa in June, 2025,  Makuei said that multiple fiber connections are vital to ensure internet continuity for the landlocked country. However, he cautioned that ongoing power shortages continue to challenge the ICT sector’s growth.

In a related development, former Undersecretary Lado Wani Kenyi, speaking after the AI Summit in Kigali, disclosed that the government is awaiting a “no objection” from the World Bank to begin formal negotiations with a top-ranked firm for the project’s implementation.

Despite recent digital initiatives, South Sudan continues to face some of the highest internet costs in the region, largely due to inadequate infrastructure and energy constraints.

In 2022, South Sudan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Djibouti to lay fiber-optic cables via Ethiopia— a move officials say will further enhance international connectivity and help lower internet costs for consumers.