JUBA - Flying into Juba, South Sudan, is challenging at the best of times, with only a few airlines prepared to operate in the conflict-affected country and critical infrastructure, including the international airport, still devastated by war.
To improve aviation safety and help attract major airlines, the Government of South Sudan requested the United Nations peacekeeping mission to hand back land it occupies next to the airport.
Today, the first parcel of 250x100m2 of land was returned.
“There was a significant amount of investment of money and energy made here so I want to thank UNMISS so much for adding value to Juba International Airport,” said Daffalla Habib Awongo, Acting Director-General of South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, at the handover.
“We will continue to partner with the mission to ensure that we make the airport modern, safe, reliable and efficient.”
The project, which began in March, was a mammoth and costly effort by UNMISS at a time when it is also being forced to close and downsize bases around the country, reduce peacekeepers, and cut its operational budget due to the UN-wide financial crisis.
To free up the land, the mission had to remove 300 shipping containers, relocate its own air hangar and many accommodation units, while its peacekeeping engineers battled through the long, and extraordinarily heavy, rainy season to level and compact the area, build culverts, and clear drainage systems.
Navigating the immensely soft soil during heavy downpours proved particularly challenging, with the engineers having to dig 1.7 meters deep at times to find hard ground.
“When I saw the topography of the soil, I was a bit hesitant, because this area is swampy area with a lot of bad soil which expands in the rain and then later contracts,” said Kat Mosety Monyjok, who is an engineer as well as the General Manager of Juba International Airport.
“It was a difficult task, but despite the hardship, we thank God it has been finalized and handed over,” added his civilian aviation colleague, Daffalla Habib Awongo.
The Herculean effort required the full-time commitment of three UNMISS engineering contingents from Bangladesh and Thailand for eight months.
“Without them, what we are seeing today would not have been possible,” said UNMISS Chief of Service Delivery, Qazi Masroor Ullah. “In spite of all the challenges, the contingents have been working seven days a week, without even taking the weekend off, so they definitely deserve our appreciation.”
The mission has also provided vehicles and training to build the capacity of South Sudan’s air aviation unit.
“We do not take this effort for granted,” said Daffalla Habib Awongo. “It attests to the level of partnership that has been established with UNMISS over many years.”
While much more is still to be done to finalize the return of a further parcel of land and for local authorities to carry out their own work to improve airport facilities, including tarmacking dirt areas and installing lighting to improve surveillance at night, it’s hoped the collective efforts will help support the country’s desperately needed economic recovery.
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By Francesca Mold
