Some spare parts for the repair of the Juba Bridge have arrived in South Sudan from Britain, a government official said.

Speaking to reporters after receiving the equipment in Juba on Friday, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, Phillip Marlow Waiwai said the remaining parts are expected to arrive in Juba next week via Mombasa, a coastal city of Kenya along the Indian Ocean.

He said it will take at least a month to repair the bridge.

Last year, authorities closed one lane of the bridge after damages were discovered in parts of the superstructures holding the bridge.

According to South Sudan Roads Authority (SSRA), the damage on the bridge is on span, the part which directly receives the live load.

In September last year, the ministry banned heavy trucks carrying sand and aggregates from crossing the bridge, but this was ignored.

South Sudan has not built up industry even after becoming independent in 2011, and most food and other supplies are imported from neighboring Uganda and Kenya. In order to carry supplies to Juba by road, it is necessary to cross the Nile River, which is around 300 meters wide.

Juba Bridge provides the only access over the Nile into much of South Sudan since most goods and foodstuffs imported from Kenya and Uganda pass over the Juba-Nimule road.