Judge's gavel in courtroom - (Photo: Courtesy).

An electrical company building the Nesitu Power Plant has filed a lawsuit against South Sudan at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) after the country failed to fully pay for the agreed amount, an official disclosed.

Deputy Minister of Information Dr. Jacob Maiju Korok said the case was discussed in the cabinet meeting chaired by President Kiir on Friday – and the finance ministry was directed to immediately settle the remaining arears owed to the contractor.

Korok said the initial agreement was to the tune of 50 million US dollars, where $20 million was disbursed and $30 million remains unpaid.

He said the arrears have prompted the firm building the solar power plant to sue the Ministry of Energy and Dam, which represents the South Sudan government.

“The Minister of Energy and Dam raised concern about the 20 megawatts of solar plant which is invested in Nesitu. The cost of the project was actually 50 million, out of which the government managed to pay 20,” he said, addressing journalists in Juba.

“The remaining amount is $30 million, so the company decided to take the government to the court of arbitration in the US and the minister (of energy) asked the ministry of finance to handle that issue before moving further to the court issues.”

According to Global Arbitration Review, the claim was registered at the ICSID in September 2023 by a subsidiary of Egyptian multinational Elsewedy Electric, which operates engineering and manufacturing facilities serving energy infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East.

The $50 million contract was signed in 2019 for the construction, engineering, procurement and installation of the solar energy plant east of the capital Juba with South Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Dams.

In April 2024, President Kiir said his government has completed the construction of Nesitu Solar Power Plant to supply a capacity of 20 megawatts of electricity.

Speaking during the reopening of the reconstituted transitional national legislature after nearly four-month recess, Kiir said the government was seeking financial support from Africa Development Bank to commission the power plant, probably in May.