With the ongoing construction of the South Sudan Link Road, it is much easier for motorists to drive from Kitale – Kapenguria – Lokichar – Lodwar – Kakuma – Lokichogio, all the way to Kenya’s border with South Sudan.
As of November 2020, the road was 65 percent complete with an expected completion date of December 2021. The South Sudan Link road project is being undertaken by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) at a cost of Ksh37 billion.
It connects the towns of Kitale – Kapenguria – Lokichar – Lodwar – Kakuma to Lokichogio town, which is 30 kilometres from the border between Kenya and South Sudan.
Construction of the 601-kilometer road started in 2016 after Kenya signed a deal with the World Bank to fund the laying of fiber-optic cable and the construction of a superhighway connecting Kenya and South Sudan.
At the border, the countries will set up a one-stop border post at Nakodok that will supplement the role of the new highway in boosting regional trade.
The construction of a crucial road linking Kenya and South Sudan, which industry players say will significantly transform the trade between the two nations was started in November 2015.
Since South Sudan became an independent state, it has increased the volumes of the goods traded with Kenya. Today it is the second largest transit market of the cargo imported through the port of Mombasa after Uganda, which commands over 70 percent of the total transit volumes. Imports from Kenya make 25 per cent of South Sudan’s total inflows.
Most of the South Sudan bound cargo imported through the port of Mombasa is transported through Uganda. Ideally, it would be easy to use the Kitale route which would reduce the border crossing to one and also reduce the distance to Juba by about 400 kilometres. Crossing the two border points causes serious delays, affecting the truck overall turnaround.
Uganda constructed a road connecting Kampala, Gulu in the North of Uganda and Juba. This has made Uganda a huge trading partner with Southern Sudan especially on vegetables and other food stuffs from Uganda. Also, Kenyans intending to travel to Juba have to pass through Kampala to get to South Sudan.
Kenya’s main transport artery has traditionally been the Northern Corridor highway running from Mombasa through Nairobi to the border with Uganda and Kampala.
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