UNMISS Indian Battalion completes Bentiu-Mayom road stretch renovation

6 Jan 2016

UNMISS Indian Battalion completes Bentiu-Mayom road stretch renovation

After 20 days of work, at a rate of 10 hours a day, the Indian Horizontal Mobility Engineering Company (HMEC) operating under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)  completed a road renovation project on the stretch Bentiu- Mayom at the border between Unity and Warrap states on 20 December 2015.

The road linking Bentiu to Juba is one of the main supply routes of South Sudan to provide logistic support to Western and Northern states such as Western Equatoria, Warrap and Unity states. It passes through Mundri, Rumbek, Wau, Turalej, Ajak- Kwach, Abiemnom, Mayom and Bentiu and has a length of approximately 1,100km.

 

The Indian HMEC conducted works on the Bentiu-Mayom stretch, which represents 151km. Originally launched in August 2015, the project had to be stopped due to the rainy season and the poor road conditions which made the access difficult for heavy repair machines.

 

The 22 engineers resumed their activities at the end of November 2015. They encountered some challenges during the renovation which hampered the progress of the work, including bad road maintenance and safety issues. The company worked far from the UNMISS base of Bentiu, in a hostile environment exposed to mine fields and snakes but thanks to the support of Ghanaian Battalion who ensured the security of the team and the equipment, they completed the project just before Christmas, making the road functional again for the population of South Sudan.