South Sudan requests $1.9 billion in aid from China
The funds will help develop oil fields and infrastructure: Foreign Minister
South Sudan has requested $1.9 billion from the Chinese government to develop oil fields and infrastructure projects, Foreign Minister Deng Alor said Tuesday.
If China agrees, the funds could be used to reopen one of South Sudan’s key oil fields in Unity State that has been shut down since a civil war began in December 2013, said Alor.
“The oil companies want to work in secure environments. When there is no security it will be difficult for oil companies to come and start production,” Northern Liech Governor Joseph Monytuil told the Associated Press from Bentiu, where the dormant oil fields lie.
About $700 million would be used to rebuild a road between Juba, the capital, and Wau, which saw heavy fighting last month, said the foreign minister.
South Sudan’s request comes as the country has an economic crisis and is struggling to pay civil servants. The government said earlier this week that the inflation rate in the country reached 600 percent in the past year.
Also Read
-
US proposes UN-approved 4,000-strong force for S.Sudan’s Juba
The protection force would be part of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS North Africa -
South Sudan accepts deployment of regional force
The move is meant to protect civilians and to help facililate a peace deal News -
South Sudan leader fires 5 ministers close to opposition
Kiir accused Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that degenerated into a ruinous civil war North Africa -
UN says 60,000 have fled South Sudan since latest fighting
Almost 900,000 South Sudanese have left the country since the civil war started - UN North Africa -
UN must improve peacekeeping in South Sudan, say aid groups
Some 4.8 million South Sudanese are facing severe food shortages, according to WFP News
