Electricity transmission lines. - Courtesy

South Sudan has secured a $130 million grant through the Nile Basin Initiative to import electricity from Uganda, a major step toward addressing the country’s chronic energy shortage, a government official has said.

Engineer Manyuon Deng, South Sudan’s representative to the Nile Basin Initiative, disclosed the development during a televised interview with the state-owned SSBC on Monday, May 19.

He said the funding comprises $80 million from the African Development Bank and an additional $50 million from the European Union.

“This electricity will benefit the whole of Equatoria, Upper Nile, and Bahr el Ghazal regions,” Deng stated, describing the project as a game changer in improving access to reliable power across much of the country.

He further noted that the World Bank has also pledged to finance the distribution network once the imported power reaches South Sudanese territory.

Engineer Deng stated that the government is currently in the process of signing the grant agreement, and the project is expected to officially begin implementation in early 2026.

Addressing questions on why the government opted for power importation rather than investing in the long-planned Fulla hydropower project, Engineer Deng explained that Fulla would require $1.5 billion in funding and take approximately eight years to become operational. “This approach brings electricity to our people much sooner and at a fraction of the cost,” he added.