Aweil West and Aweil North counties of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State are happy about the completion of the Nyamlel Bridge. The bridge is a crucial link for the movement of goods and services between the two counties, especially during the rainy season.
Several persons reportedly died as a result of drowning when the bridge flooded in 2021 and 2022. Flooding has also destroyed homes and livestock and negatively impacted the livelihoods of communities across the two counties.
According to state government authorities, more than 42 people have drowned in the recent past. More than 30 people died in Aweil West alone after trying to cross the last floodwaters. Twelve cases of drowning were recorded in Aweil North County.
On 11 May, the national government, the European Union, and other development partners, including United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), officially inaugurated Nyamlel Bridge.
Radio Tamazuj has been talking with local traders and community members whose lives were improved as a result of the completion and launch of the Nyamlel Bridge. The majority of residents in the two counties have praised the donor community and shared vast economic activities that are directly linked to the new and improved bridge.
Adut Akech, a teamaker in Nyamlel town, said that her work will be improved to compensate for the previous losses in her business. She explained: “Yes, the market activities are good with us because the goods will be transported easily between Aweil North and Aweil West Counties via Nyamlel bridge.
Lueth Magak, a local trader who runs businesses between Aweil West County and Aweil North County, said he was finally freed from so many difficulties facing him when transporting commercial goods from Nyamlel town in Aweil West County to areas of Pamat and Gokmachar in Aweil North County for the past few years.
“I have two shops, one is in Pamat and the other is in Gokmachar areas in Aweil North County, plus the ones I have here in Aweil West County. I sometimes import goods from Juba to Nyamlel every autumn and I used to face a lot of challenges when transporting them to those areas, but now my business will go smoothly because I will supply all my shops within seven days and import the new items,” said Magak.
Another trader who hails from Aweil North County, Achuil Garang Mou, said it took him 40 litres of petrol to facilitate a single trip in the past. He said that now it only requires less than 20 litres to travel the same distance. Construction of the bridge has meant that trucks have a more direct route than in the past.
“I am among the happy traders on the arrival of the bridge because we have been crying over the lack of the bridge all this time because it has been behind high prices that affected local communities. I used to buy 40 litres of fuel to spend my journey, but now I can only buy 20 or 15 litres and this indicates that my business is growing,” Achuil Garang explained.
Community leaders from both counties have endorsed the benefits their communities are enjoying, saying that border trade and community livelihood resilience are secured through the inauguration of the lifesaving Nyamlel bridge.
A well-known paramount chief in Aweil West County, Dut Majak, said the bridge has contributed positively to commercial activities between the counties and other neighbouring regions in Sudan and South Sudan unlike before.
“This bridge has a great contribution to commercial movements because the traders from Aweil West County cross to Aweil North County and vice versa and Sudanese merchants come from the Kiir Adem corridor and cross to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State via the Nyamlel Bridge. This bridge creates important trade relations among the areas of Marial Baai, Wedwil, Wathok, Wanyjok and Akuem,” celebrated Majak.
Ken Barjok Ken, who heads Malual Center Community in Aweil North County, said the bridge is the first benefit for the people in both counties, emphasizing that goods are transported without effects nowadays.
“The Nyamlel Bridge is the first benefit between Nyamlel in Aweil West County and Gokmachar in Aweil North County because there was such a negative effect in the business landscape when the rainy season comes although we have a road links Aweil North and Aweil East Counties, all commodities are now transited from Aweil town to Aweil North via Nyamlel,” Barjok explained.