The minister of roads and bridges in Lakes State has said his office over the weekend started fixing impassable sections along the Rumbek-Yirol road after the national council of ministers in Juba approved USD 15 million for the road works.
Minister Awoul Malual told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the state roads ministry and the contractor, GS Construction Company, have already fixed sections of the Rumbek-Bahr Naam road and that movement of vehicles had resumed along it.
“As of now, the road is passable from the state headquarters to Aluakluak Payam in Yirol West County but from Aluakluak to Yirol, the road is not passable because the floodwaters cut off the road,” he said. “We are trying our level best to go and fix that section of the road as soon as possible and we cannot wait. We first want to finish with this section because what we are doing is just a short-term solution and later we will do full maintenance of the road from Rumbek to Yirol.”
Malual said they will install dykes to stop floodwaters from cutting off sections of the roads and install culverts before spreading murram and leveling the road.
“My work station is now between Bahr Naam and Aduel and the work is going on well and we are going to set up camps for ours and the workers of the contractor in Aluakluak,” he said. “It is USD 15 million which was approved to fix the road from Rumbek to Terekaka. The road from Lakes State to Terekaka is going to be fixed permanently with asphalt and as you heard more than 730 million dollars has been approved for phase two of construction of that road.”
Minister Malual said the state government is in place to provide services to the people and that his department will ensure roads are fixed so that farmers can take their produce to the market.
“This is harvest season and we have groundnuts and if a farmer wants to take them to the market and there is no road, his produce will go bad,” he said. “With the roads opened and passable, it is very simple for the local producers to bring their local produce to the town.”