Freedom Bridge, a long-sought symbol of peace and freedom in South Sudan, is completed.
Building the country’s first arched steel bridge over the Nile River through South Sudan. —-
The construction of the Nile Bridge project in Juba, South Sudan, which has been underway since 2012, has reached completion. JICA President Akihiko Tanaka also came from Japan on his first overseas trip since assuming office, and the opening ceremony was held on May 19. President Kiir, who attended the ceremony, said, “This bridge will be a lasting proof of the true friendship between South Sudan and Japan.
The bridge, which was completed after three interruptions due to repeated conflicts and the Corona disaster, is called the “Freedom Bridge” by the local people to express their hopes for peace, freedom, and a bright future for their country. The construction of the Freedom Bridge was one of the projects to commemorate the country’s independence and to express the country’s hopes for the future as it began to build a new nation despite its many challenges, including poverty and inadequate education. The name “Freedom Bridge” was given by the people of South Sudan, who had achieved their long-awaited independence, to express their hopes for freedom and peace. It was the country’s first arched steel bridge over the Nile River, and “as a civil engineer, I was fired up with a sense of mission,” Umeda says enthusiastically.After the second round of clashes were settled by a peace agreement in 2018, the half-finished construction resumed in 2019. The South Sudanese workers were willing to do the hard work, and they all worked very hard, so I am sure they experienced the same sense of accomplishment.
© Source JICA