Limur (Nyimur) river along South Sudan-Uganda border. (-)

The Minister of Water Resources has revealed that South Sudan and Uganda are considering construction of two dams for irrigation and water supply at Limur (Nyimur) River shared by Magwi County and neighboring Lamwo District.

Pal Mai Deng presented a memo concerning the 98 million-US dollar joint project to the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

Known as Limur Multi-purpose Water and Resource Development Project, the initiative aims to support irrigation schemes and provide water supply for both human consumption and livestock needs in the two nations.

Disclosing the project to media following the cabinet meeting, Information Deputy Minister Maiju Korok said one dam will be built on South Sudan side, estimated to cost 36 million US dollars.

According to Dr. Korok, the cabinet delayed the project and directed the Water and Irrigation Minister to provide maps for the project area and tasked to do consultations with other stakeholders including communities.

“The objective of this project is to construct two dams for irrigation and water supply in Uganda and South Sudan to construct irrigation schemes and provide water supply for both humans and livestock in the two countries,” Korok said on state-owned television SSBC.

“The total cost of the project is 96 USD million and the cost of the construction of the dam in South Sudan is 36 million USD dollars. The discussion about the project in the council of the ministries, the project was deferred with specific recommendations from the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation.”

Nyimur River is a transboundary river that connects communities in both South Sudan and Uganda.

It is located in the Aswa river basin and covers just over 31 thousand square kilometers in northeastern Uganda and in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State of South Sudan.

According to the Nile Basin Initiative, the Aswa basin, both in Uganda and South Sudan, has over the previous years, been theatre of armed conflict, acute social insecurity and mass displacement of populations from rural areas towards more secure congregated settlements.

Organizations such as the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) has facilitated citizen and community engagement between the two countries to manage this shared water resources to avert conflict.