ARC completed 52 km of Terekeka-Mingkaman highway

By Awan Achiek

The Africa Resource Corporation (ARC) – the firm constructing the Terekeka-Bhar el Ghazal road said on Friday it has completed 52 km of Terekeka-Mingkaman section along the 392 km Juba-Rumbek highway.

Manong Zechariah, Project Manager of ARC said the preparations are ongoing for another 28 kilometers to be tarmacked.

“That means we are still in central Equatoria. But we have only one kilometer left to reach Lakes State Territory. So these are the steps we are in. Asphalt is about 52 kilometers,” Zechariah told Dawn in an interview on Friday.

Zechariah said they have covered 95 per cent of road from Terekeka to Rumbek with maram.

“So already the embankment is up to Rumbek. So even now reaching Guolyar, we have Maram, all of it. Not only Guolyar, we can say it’s up to Yirol, 95% of it is Maram. Now the second part is the stone base followed by asphalt. The stone base is approaching the Kalthok River,” he said.

He said the asphalt has reached Tombek checkpoint which is just 5 km from Kalthok of Awerial County.

 “We have only 5 kilometers left to reach the Kalthok River. And then now the asphalt, we are still in Tombek. If you know the Tombek checkpoint, we left the Tombek checkpoint by 1.5 kilometers.”

He revealed that supply shortage impact construction of highway, adding that shipment delay due to Red Sea turmoil.

“One of the conditions, you know the fuel supply. The fuel is not within the country. We are supplying it from abroad. So you know within juba we have been having a lot of fuel shortage. So even the supply is not flowing as it was like last year,” he said.

“Number two, you know bitumen. Bitumen comes from the Middle East or from Asia. And there have been a lot of issues, wars within those countries. They have been obstructing the movement of this ship.”

He disclosed that they would completed 28 km of Terekeka-Mingkaman  within 28 days if all the materials are available.

“28 kilo, if we are doing one kilo a day that means 28 days. But the problem is that the bitumen is not coming. So we wait for the bitumen. If it comes, then we divide it. We work. We are waiting for another consignment,” he said.

 The Juba-Terekeka section (63 kilometers) was completed by Chinese firm Shandong Hi-Speed Group Company Limited (SDHS).

 In December 2022, President Salva Kiir Mayardit launched construction of the second phase of Juba-Bahr El Ghazal highway in Mingkaman, Awerial County after commissioning the newly completed 63 kilometers Juba-Terekeka section.

The Juba-Rumbek road is designed to link Central Equatoria State which hosts Juba, the capital of South Sudan, with six other states across the vast east African country.

The 392 km road project is being built under the oil-for-roads project.