Sudan to rehabilitate sea, land, and air transport

The Sudanese Ministry of Transport plans to develop the Suakin Port in Red Sea state for passengers. Port Sudan’s southern port will not be privatised, Transport Minister Mirghani Mousa told Radio Dabanga in an interview yesterday. The ministry has also begun with the rehabilitation of the railways and damaged roads.

The harbour of Suakin, south of the Red Sea capital Port Sudan, will be developed and expanded in order” “to be able to operate at its maximum capacity”, the Minister said.

He further denied “any plans to sell or privatise the southern port of Port Sudan”, and said that the Prime Minister recently approved a proposal by the German Hamburg Port Agency to facilitate the flow of exports and imports at the southern port.

“The southern container port suffers from congestion and obstacles that prevent the flow of goods as it should be, as well as from other problems related to logistics and operations,” he explained.

“The Hamburg Port Agency summarised the problems of the southern port in four basic points, namely safety, periodic maintenance of the machines, the operational structure, and the working methods.”

Mousa further mentioned that his ministry is discussing more transport possibilities with Egypt, and is exploring the field of transportation of goods on the River Nile.

Railways, airlines

Mousa also reported that the ministry has begun with the rehabilitation of the railways and the maintenance of roads that were damaged during the rainy season last year.

The ministry has ordered 27 locomotives from China. The first batch of 11 locomotives has already arrived. Egypt has almost finished the maintenance of a number of old locomotives, which will be received next week.

The Minister further mentioned talks with Lufthansa about the first steps of a partnership with the German airlines, and also emphasised “the importance of communication with international aerospace companies such as Airbus and Boeing”.