VP President Taban Deng, the chairperson of Infrastructure Cluster- Credit: Office of the President

Vice President for Infrastructure Cluster has assured President Kiir of efforts to scale up infrastructure development next year.

Taban Deng Gai made the remarks on Monday, October 30, after briefing President Kiir on the progress of the ongoing construction of road networks in Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria regions.

The Vice President in Charge of the Infrastructure cluster says the plan is part of the current push for the nation’s economic recovery.

According to him, work on the Juba- Bahr el Ghazal and Juba- Bor-Malakal Highways is progressing well.

He added that the work on the roads in Equatoria will commence soon.

“We briefed the President on the progress that is happening on all the roads in the Bahr El-Ghazal area and in Equatoria and the preparations that we are doing to commence again the road going north from Bor to Upper Nile. We informed the President that we are ready,” said VP Taban.

“We believe that this road to Rumbek will witness a lot of changes, we hope the tarmac shall reach Rumbek before the end of next,” he said.

His remarks came after the Auditor General told the parliament that there were irregularities in the construction of the Juba-Rumbek road.

Ambassador Steven Wondu revealed that more than 21 billion barrels of crude oil were shipped between 2019 and 2020 to construct the Juba-Bahr El-Ghazal road.

Auditors couldn’t determine how much crude oil was used for the construction of the Juba-Rumbek.

According to Wondu, it was expected that the 396-kilometer highway would be completed within a four-year timeframe.

However, as of 2022, only 63 kilometres of the road have been completed, indicating a major delay in the project’s progress.

Meanwhile, Vice President Taban Deng Gai is set to lead a government delegation to the United Arab Emirates.

The purpose of this visit, he said, is to engage in discussions with Emirati officials regarding potential investment opportunities in South Sudan’s oil and gas sector.