The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) approved an African Development Fund (ADF) supplementary loan of US $14.57 million to rehabilitate and expand the distribution networks in Juba, South Sudan.

The Power distribution system rehabilitation and expansion project aims at strengthening the distribution networks in Juba to provide reliable electricity supply from existing and future generation facilities and thus satisfy the suppressed load and demand growth in the city.

The project consists of the construction of 145 km of 33 kV lines; 370 km of 415/230 volt lines; the purchase and installation of 195 transformer stations, as well as 20,000 prepaid meters for connecting 20,000 new customers.

The project is highly aligned with the Bank's High 5s for Powering and Lighting up Africa as it will increase the electrification rate in the south Sudan, both for residential and commercial use.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved a grant of USD 26 million on 18 December 2013 to finance the project. This amount was used to fund the whole scope of the project which includes recruitment of the project supervision and management consultant and distribution systems construction contractor. The current supplementary loan is approved to cover the budget deficit of the total project.

Presenting the project to the Board, the Director General, East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, Gabriel Negatu, explained that South Sudan was facing several challenges to improve the life of the South Sudanese. For him, South Sudan being amongst the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, requires huge support from development partners. "The country's infrastructure particularly the energy sector, is in its infancy and would require substantial investments to create an enabling environment for economic development," he underscored, stressing that: "The project will contribute to reduce the inefficiencies of the network and increase electricity access in Juba."