Nadapal road will shorten Mombasa-Juba trade route – Foreign Affairs Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. James Pitia Morgan, says completing the Juba-Torit-Nadapal highway would shorten the long and costly route currently used to transport goods from Mombasa to Juba.
Dr. Morgan made the remarks during a meeting with his Kenyan counterpart, Musalia Mudavadi, in Nairobi on Friday.
The two officials discussed improving connectivity, promoting trade, and expanding economic cooperation between South Sudan and Kenya.
The discussions focused on improving road transport links between Mombasa and Juba, including a proposed direct route through Nadapal.
Dr. Morgan said South Sudan currently relies on a longer route through Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kampala before goods reach Juba.
He said the long journey causes delays, including extended waiting periods at the Port of Mombasa.
The minister said completing the Nadapal road would provide a direct route and support economic development in both countries.
“Most of the time, spend a lot of time in Mombasa port due to long transport. Because at the moment we are using Mombasa, Nairobi, Kampala, then Juba. But once this Nadapal road is open, we concluded that this will be the best thing, that the two countries will be able to steer the economic development for the two countries,” said Dr. Morgan speaking to SSBC on Friday.
“We mainly focus on our road transport of our items from Mombasa to Juba. His Excellency advised we should have the link that links us directly, for example, from Juba to Nairobi. We have issues of this road construction between Lokichogio to Nandapal and Juba,” he added.
The 340-kilometre road connecting Nadapal on the Kenya border to Juba is estimated to cost 415 million US dollars.
Kenya has completed its section from Nairobi to Nadapal, but construction on the South Sudan side through Kapoeta and Torit has faced delays.
In June 2024, the government announced that construction of the Juba-Torit-Nadapal highway would begin with financial support from the World Bank.
