SOUTH SUDAN’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE

# **Box 1. Road sector institutions in South Sudan**

In 2005 the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) led by the United Nations and World Bank recommended that capacity building, development and training, and the preparation of projects for rehabilitation and development of infrastructure be made a priority. Emphasis was placed on developing implementation structures to facilitate sufficiently high fiduciary and procurement standards to enable the execution of labor-based construction activities. The Ministry of Transport and Roads developed a Transport Sector Policy (October 2006) and a Road Sector Strategy Plan, which was approved by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) and adopted as a framework for the continuing sector development program. Both of these documents presented the policy and regulatory reforms and institutional development required to improve road infrastructure, yet there is much work still pending on this front.

These policy documents highlighted the importance of addressing transport sector issues comprehensively for all modes of transport—road, rail, air, river, and sea—and of developing a strategy for the largest mode, road transport. The road subsector policy and strategy recognized the importance and urgency of (i) defining institutional arrangements for policy and regulatory functions, (ii) properly managing the implementation of road maintenance and development projects, (iii) generating annual revenue and efficiently managing road financing, and (iv) setting technical standards and specifications for various road classes.

A draft legislative bill to establish a South Sudan Roads Authority (SSRA) is currently under discussion. It is expected that the SSRA will be established first and then a road fund and roads board will follow when capacity is considered sufficient. In the meantime, funds budgeted for annual road maintenance have been allocated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) on a priority basis. Until the SSRA is established, the planning and implementation of road maintenance programs remain the responsibility of the Roads and Bridges Directorate, itself under the MTR.

_Source:_ Louis Berger Group and Doshi Borgan & Partners. 2010.

Beyond the 7,000 km of roads needed to remedy rural connectivity, an additional 1,300 km are needed to meet regional connectivity standards for key economic nodes, in particular linking Juba to the international frontiers. In addition, to meet urban connectivity standards, South Sudan must extend the paved road network to within 500 meters of urban populations.

Two scenarios are considered to move toward these goals. In the base scenario, all infrastructure is maintained in good condition and higher-end surfacing options are used (asphalt for all regional, national, and urban roads and single-surface treatment for rural roads). In the pragmatic scenario, half the infrastructure is maintained in good condition and half in fair condition, and lower-cost surfacing options are used (single-surface treatment for national and urban roads and gravel for rural roads).

Sizable spending requirements are needed to reach either of these goals (table 7), requiring South Sudan to spend $220 million–$380 million a year over the next ten years. The largest components of this total are improving the condition and maintenance of existing roads (table 7).

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