Connecting for Growth : South Sudan Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Diagnostics

Overview & Synopsis

The current state of the transport sector in South Sudan is dire. For example, it takes between two to four days to travel from Juba to Wau in South Sudan, a distance of approximately 650 km. In the rainy season, this journey can take over a week, if at all. A trip from Budapest to Munich, which is the same distance, takes seven hours. This is just one instance that captures the current transport conditions in South Sudan. There is urgent need for a robust transport system, with requisite institutional governance, financing, due attention to maintenance and climate resilience to bring opportunity and hope back to the people of South Sudan. The report analyzes South Sudan’s transport infrastructure, connectivity needs, and investment priorities against the background of the country’s unique geography and recent instability - and its funding and financing constraints. It argues that a “build and they will come” approach will not work. Instead, to materially reduce logistics costs, and meaningfully support economic growth ambitions, South Sudan needs to be selective and focused in making infrastructure investments. The analysis, therefore, focused principally on key agriculture value chains and incorporating the export of refined oil. The assessment of gaps in infrastructure, institutions, policy, and regulations is from the perspective of developing each of these value chains.