Darfur fuel shortage halts work on Ingaz highway

Work on parts of the Ingaz highway, between Zalingei and El Geneina, and Nyala and El Fasher, was suspended 20 days ago owing to a shortage of diesel. The Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) reported in a press statement that the lack of diesel needed for operating the road construction machines has temporarily halted work on the Zalingei-El Geneina and Nyala-El Fasher road. The DRA attributed the problem to the failureof the Sudanese Ministry of Finance to provide money for the companies working on the Ingaz (Salvation) highway. Resident engineer and the supervisor of the western (Zalingei-El Geneina) segment of the road, Salah Mohamed Yasir, confirmed that the construction team is waiting for fuel. File photo: Women on donkeys at the El Fasher-Khartoum road. At the time of the photo, March 2013, a Chinese company was working on paving this road of about 1,000km long. The work was suspended more than once due to insecurity. The paved road will reduce the distance between both cities up to eight hours. Currently, vehicles spend more than two days. (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related: Price hikes in Sudan, fuel crisis hinders farming; MPs warn of famine (23 January 2013)