The opening of a bridge funded by Japan in South Sudan raises hopes for peace and development.

Courtesy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Staff from South Sudan and Japan celebrate the completion of the Freedom Bridge over the Nile River in Juba.

With Japan's development assistance, the first permanent bridge across the Nile River in South Sudan was constructed last month after years of starts and stops in an unstable region.

It is believed that the 560-metre Freedom Bridge in Juba, the capital of the newest country in the world, will improve development and consolidate peace in a region that has been plagued by conflict for decades.

At the bridge's opening ceremony on May 19, which was shown live on local television, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir stated, "This bridge will stand as a permanent testament to our sincere friendship with the Japanese people and their administration." He urged locals to "work hard to keep the peace" and added, "War retards progress, as evidenced by the length of time it took to create this bridge."

On July 9, 2011, South Sudan attained independence from Sudan following decades of military conflict against the Khartoum government. Planning for the bridge began shortly before independence, and construction began in August 2013 with an anticipated completion date of 2017. Conflict broke out between those loyal to Kiir, who has been president since independence, and those loyal to Riek Machar, who is now the First Vice President, from December 2013 until January 2015, and again beginning in July 2016.

After the signing of a peace accord in 2018, construction resumed in May 2019, only to be halted again from April 2020 to February 2021 owing to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the delays, the construction costs increased from the initially estimated 9.065 billion to 12.16 billion, of which 11.36 billion was financed by Japanese grants-in-aid through the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

"The bridge is a symbol of peace and freedom," said South Sudan's Roads and Bridges Ministry's Freedom Bridge Project Manager George Duku in an online interview.

According to Duku, asking for Japan's support for the bridge's construction was one of the first significant decisions made by the newly constituted South Sudan government for its development strategy, with the Cabinet naming the bridge Freedom Bridge.

"We fought against the oppression of Sudan for over 50 years, so when we achieved independence in 2011, we said, 'Now we can make our own decisions as an independent people,'" Duku remembered. Therefore, we declared, "Let this bridge symbolise our freedom."

Courtesy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, 2nd from left, JIC Agency President Akihiko Tanaka, 3rd from left, and First Vice President Riek Machar, right, speak at the opening ceremony of the Freedom Bridge in Juba on May 19.

Kiir and Machar stood side by side at the bridge's opening ceremony, which Duku described as "a message that there is no longer any fighting."

South Sudan is one of the least developed countries in the world. According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, less than 200 kilometres out of an estimated 17,000 kilometres of roads are paved. Due to flooding, rural areas are frequently cut off during the rainy season. As of March, 2.34 million refugees from a country with a population of over 12 million reside in neighbouring countries, while another 2 million were displaced within the country owing to protracted unrest and flooding.

While the landlocked nation relies significantly on goods from its neighbours, the capital city traditionally had only one bridge over the expansive Nile. It was known as the Juba Bridge and was a temporary Bailey bridge. Constructed in 1972, it requires frequent maintenance, which severely disrupts the flow of products and traffic.

Juba's city centre now has direct access to key international routes that connect to the rest of East Africa, most notably the port of Mombasa in Kenya, thanks to the new bridge.

Duku stated, "We are thrilled to participate in the construction of this contemporary bridge." "There is no development without highways, and there are no roads without bridges. Therefore, we must ensure that the nation is connected by roads and bridges."

‘Gift’ and ‘lessons’

For South Sudan and its neighbours, the inauguration of the Freedom Bridge has been a hot topic. There have been numerous posts on the bridge on social media, with some receiving more than 1,000 comments.

In addition to associating the new bridge with hopes for peace and progress and expressing gratitude to the Japanese for the "gift," many also express discontent with their government. "It is a memorable lesson in what can be accomplished with $91 million [the bridge's construction cost in dollars]," a local remarked. Here, our government is busily robbing us of billions of dollars, commented another.

The nation's economy is primarily reliant on oil, and corruption is pervasive. The Corruption Perceptions Index 2021 issued by Transparency International ranks South Sudan dead last out of 180 nations. As a result of a weak economy, government employees, including as police and military personnel, are routinely paid late, which exacerbates insecurity.

Courtesy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
Construction workers work seven meters below the water surface of the Nile River to build the foundation of the Freedom Bridge in Juba.

The Freedom Bridge project also sought to equip local labourers with much-required construction expertise. CTI Engineering International Co. (CTII) handled the construction, while Dai Nippon Construction, located in Gifu, was responsible for its execution. Approximately ten Japanese engineers and technicians were stationed in Juba to oversee the project, and at its peak, over two hundred local labourers were hired.

Norio Umeda, the project's resident engineer at CTII, stated in an online interview from Juba, "South Sudanese workers were earnest and dedicated, and they absorbed new information like ink on blotting paper."

According to Umeda, the team's objective was to teach both a Japanese work ethic and concrete abilities. Before beginning the day's work, there were daily morning meetings to set goals as well as group activities. In addition, there was an emphasis on keeping tools and the construction site clean.

Every two to three months, Umeda invited local university students studying civil engineering to the construction site to observe the progress of the work. Several students joined government ministries.

The Japanese staff was required to depart South Sudan if the building was interrupted. Umeda stated that he interacted daily with the local personnel and never had any doubts that the bridge would be built. Despite the insecurity in Juba, the construction site was never robbed.

"Both sides [of the conflict] understood the significance of this bridge for South Sudan's future," Umeda stated. Umeda is delighted that the bridge is "a project that will directly help the South Sudanese people," as opposed to the luxury hotels that have sprung up in Juba with foreign funding, which most locals cannot afford.

David Chol Deng, the project coordinator at the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, stated in an online interview, "I want South Sudan to develop to the level of Japan." Deng joined the ministry in 2014, having previously worked at CTII. He also studied project management for two years at Yokohama National University. Deng stated, "More than 200 South Sudanese have been trained through the programme and will now contribute to the development of South Sudan."