(NIMULE) – Efforts to speed up the construction of a key trade gateway at the Nimule border with Uganda took centre stage this week as local authorities met with European Union representatives and project partners. The talks focused on reviving the timeline for a modern border facility that promises to ease the flow of goods along a vital economic corridor for South Sudan.
Nimule Mayor Ceasar Longa Fuli received a delegation on Tuesday that included officials from the European Union Cooperation Facility, the United Nations Office for Project Services, and Trade Mark Africa. The group reviewed progress on the One Stop Border Post project at Nimule–Elegu, a crossing point that handles the bulk of South Sudan’s formal trade with Uganda and the wider East African region.
The project is backed by a grant of €10 million, which is equivalent to about 11 million US Dollars. At the current real market rate of 5,800 South Sudanese Pounds to one US Dollar, this sum represents roughly 63.8 billion South Sudanese Pounds. The funding is meant to deliver a single coordinated facility housing customs, immigration, and other clearance agencies from both South Sudan and Uganda under one roof.
Mayor Fuli told the visiting team that the delivery of the border post had already taken too long. He called on contractors and all involved parties to put fresh energy behind a faster schedule. An efficient border post, he added, is vital for boosting lawful trade, strengthening security, and advancing the country’s links with neighbouring economies.
Mohamed Hajji Ibrahim, the Monitoring and Evaluation Lead Expert for the European Union Cooperation Facility, stated that the visit was meant to check the status of works, identify obstacles, and agree on steps to quicken implementation.
The border post is a central piece of the European Union’s wider support for the Northern Corridor, a trade route that connects South Sudan to Kenya and Uganda. Once completed, the Nimule post is expected to cut the time and cost of moving goods across the border, while also reducing unregulated trade.
The idea of a single clearing house at Nimule has been under discussion for more than ten years. During that period, businesses moving supplies into South Sudan have continued to face separate stops for different agencies on both sides of the border. The new model aims to replace this disjointed process with a coordinated system that speeds up clearance, lowers transaction costs, and makes the trading environment more predictable.
For South Sudan, a country that relies heavily on imports for food and manufactured goods, any reduction in border delays can have a direct effect on prices in markets from Juba to Yambio. The Nimule crossing is the main artery for goods arriving by road from Uganda, and improvements there are watched closely by traders and households across the country.
The acceleration of the project signals that partners are aware of these pressures and are working to push the long planned facility from blueprint to operation. – Press Office, Nimule Municipality Mayor