The National Minister for Road and Bridges, Simon Mijok Mijak, Minister of Wildlife, Tourism and Conservation Rizik Zackariah Hassan, and Western Bahr el Ghazal State Governor Sarah Cleto Rial over the weekend launched the testing of the new bridge in Wau.
The testing will last one week and light and heavy goods vehicles will drive over the bridge to determine its capacity, according to the national roads minister.
Last month, state authorities canceled the testing of the bridge after a protest by the Luo community over the name of the bridge.
Addressing the press after the testing, Minister Simon Mijok Mijak said the construction of the bridge is officially completed and its load limit is 49 tonnes.
“The engineering work has been accomplished and now it is just testing of the bridge for one week for heavy trucks because the allowed load is only 49 tonnes but we will encourage less than that so that the bridge lasts long,” he said. “We are so happy to visit this big achievement. We are now waiting for the official handover of the bridge by the Chinese government to the Government of South Sudan.”
Mijak said his ministry will report to President Salva Kiir to arrange the official inauguration of the bridge.
Last month, Kiir issued an order maintaining the name of Clement Mboro for the new bridge.
In March 2021, the China Tianyuan Construction Group Company Limited together with China Aid for Shared Future started the construction of the new Jur River Bridge but one year into construction, the National Council of Ministers endorsed a new name, Clement Mboro Bridge, in honor of a veteran South Sudanese politician who hailed from Wau County in Western Bahr el Ghazal state.
Before that, a youth body from Jur River County wrote a petition to Governor Sarah Cleto Rial against renaming the bridge and accused her of being behind the change of the name.