May 20, 2023
The governments of South Sudan and Ethiopia signed an agreement in Juba on Thursday for the construction of the Paloch-Pagak Road, which will pass through Mathiang and Maiwut.
The road will connect western Ethiopia with northeastern South Sudan, according to the statement posted on the official page of the office of the President.
Minister of Finance and Planning Dier Tong Ngor signed the deal on behalf of South Sudan, while Ethiopia’s deputy finance minister, Eyop Tekalign, appended his signature on behalf of the Addis Ababa government.
Ngor said the road will reduce the cost of doing business in the region once it is completed.
President Salva Kiir said the cross-border highway project will strengthen economic ties as well as enhance the free movement of people and goods in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia’s Deputy Finance Minister, Eyop Tekalign, described the project as a significant and historic development.
Tekalign said the project will bring people from the two sisterly countries together.
“Demonstrating Africa’s commitment to enhancing connectivity and promoting open borders,” Tekalign added.
Also, last year, in September, the two countries had agreed to carry out a series of joint infrastructure projects that would eventually enable the latter to link with the port of Djibouti.
This came after a high-level South Sudan delegation led by Vice-President for Infrastructure Cluster, Taban Geng Gai, met with a group of Ethiopian ministers led by Ahmed Shide.
In the same year, South Sudan announced purchase three acres of land at the port of Djibouti for the construction of a facility to handle its import and export of goods as the landlocked country eyes an alternative route to cut high dependency on Kenya’s Mombasa port.
Other major projects carried out by the government of South Sudan include the Juba-Bor Highway, Bor-Malakal Highway, Juba-Rumbek Highway