The government of South Sudan is set to receive financing that will advance two cross-border road projects linking the country to neighbouring Ethiopia.

In early November, the Ethiopian parliament endorsed a US$738.2 million loan to Juba for the construction of a 220km cross-border highway connecting western Ethiopia with the northeastern region of South Sudan.

The construction of the Pagak-Maiwut-Mathiang-Paloch road is set to enhance connectivity and economic ties between the two nations. The commercial loan is repayable over a period of 10 years.

According to an early November report by the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), South Sudan will repay the loan at a 4% interest rate through cash or crude oil payments. The report said the project’s civil and consulting works will be undertaken by Ethiopians.

The loan approval in early November follows the signing of an agreement between the two countries on the project in May 2023.

Another cross-border road linking Ethiopia and South Sudan also recorded progress in November.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has allocated US$3 million to update the feasibility study for the project to upgrade the 270km Kapoeta-Boma-Raad route, which links Kapoeta in South Sudan to Raad at the border with Ethiopia. The original study was completed in December 2018.

The road is the missing link of the Djibouti-Kampala Corridor, which interconnects Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia to the Port of Djibouti, granting the landlocked countries access to the Red Sea.

The four countries jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a scheme to revitalise the overall corridor in 2019.

Top photo: Ethiopian road (Source: Facebook @ Ethiopian Roads Administration)