Foreign investors should tap into diverse investment opportunities in South Sudan, Vice President for Infrastructure Cluster Taban Deng Gai has said.
He said the country has huge investment potential in various sectors, including infrastructure development, especially the construction of roads, the proposed construction of the City Ramciel, energy and agriculture.
Taban was speaking during the official opening of the Second Edition of the Juba Economic Forum at the Pyramid Hotel in Juba on Monday.
He said the government had classified the investment opportunities in the country into five major categories for purposes of spurring economic growth.
“These are the projects in South Sudan that we need investors, 1st road construction. There is a road from Pagak, Mathiang, Maiwut, Malakal, Mayom and Gogorial. This road will continue until the Central Africa Republic. This road will lead South Sudan to Djibouti and Ethiopia,” he said.
Taban singled out the road connecting Ethiopia to South Sudan and Uganda through Kapoeta, Ikotos to Uganda as one of the most crucial projects that require urgent attention of investors.
“Another road that is important is the road just in the border between Ethiopia and Uganda, that is through Kapoita, Ikotos and Uganda. That is the shortest road; even the government of Uganda is interested in that road,” he said.
This year’s theme of the investment forum is “Infrastructure investment for sustainable development.”
The Vice-President said the theme is in line with South Sudan’s vision of working on its road network.
The forum, which is also known as the Juba Special Economic Zone, is aimed at developing infrastructure that supports the agricultural and industrial sectors to create a food-secure state through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in line with Central Equatoria State Vision 2040.
The forum seeks to develop infrastructure, promote investment from domestic and foreign sources, create employment opportunities for South Sudanese and foreign nationals, and develop social services such as education, banking, health and tourism, among others.
VP Taban appealed to foreign investors to take advantage of the huge opportunities in the proposed development of a railway linking Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.
He said other potential areas of investment include the construction of airports, ports, and railway lines across the country.