The history behind the establishment of South Sudan as a nation was as described in the previous section. At the outset of its independence, expectations were high regarding peace and its development; however, political conflict became increasingly severe during the process of nation-building. In particular, the conflict of power between the president (the Dinka group) and the vice president (the Nuer group) was a factor in fueling political instability while heightening tensions between South Sudanese nationals.

The construction work began in August 2013 and was initially scheduled to be completed in December 2016. However, as the project was greatly impacted by the situation within the country, the construction work was frequently put on hold. Consequently, the bridge was opened in May 2022, with the initial schedule of three and a half years turning out to actually be about nine years.

Figure 1 shows a timeline of the main incidents during the construction project.

After the project contract was signed on June 15, 2013, work was progressing in Japan to draw up the construction plan and prepare to procure materials and equipment. In August 2013, the first project team arrived in South Sudan. After their arrival, they worked on setting up a system that would receive a large volume of equipment and materials transported mainly from Japan, while also undertaking tasks such as negotiating with the project client and local subcontractors, and setting up a temporary work yard. From October onward, they began to receive the equipment and materials that had arrived at the worksite.

The political situation in the country, meanwhile, showed signs of instability. In July, the president dismissed opposition ministers, including the vice president, sparking greater political tension.

Despite these circumstances, the work to receive the equipment and materials from Japan continued. However, on December 15, a clash broke out between government soldiers in Juba. The president criticized this clash as a coup d’etat by the vice president, and this conflict developed into a nationwide civil war.

On December 16, the next day, the government of South Sudan imposed a curfew. JICA instructed everyone to remain on standby at home, and the construction work was officially put on hold.

The civil war continued unabated, and on December 23, the Japanese government issued an evacuation advisory notice (Level 4).

This began the evacuation of all project-related personnel out of the country on charted aircraft operated by the UN and the United States. On December 24, everyone had been evacuated.

Although the evacuation of project personnel was done successfully, 109 trailers of equipment and materials imported from Japan had not been unloaded and were stuck between Mombasa and Juba, creating a major problem. To resolve this issue, a team from Egypt was dispatched to Juba in February 2014, and they undertook the work to unload this equipment and materials.

Meanwhile, on January 23, 2014, the president’s faction and vice president’s faction signed a ceasefire agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, through the mediation of East African countries.

While the fighting continued even after the ceasefire agreement, from October, the situation in some regions began to stabilize. As a result, on October 24, the Japanese government took measures to lower the travel advice level from Level Four to Level Three for only the capital Juba and its surrounding regions.

This prompted the contractor to dispatch a survey team on November 19 to check whether the local area was safe. After confirming it was not dangerous, it was decided that the construction work would be resumed. From December, staff gradually returned to Juba and began preparations to resume the project. The construction work officially resumed on February 16, 2015.

After resuming the construction work in February 2015, in the second half of February, work began on building the 450-meter temporary bridge across the Nile River and the substructure on the land side. In October, construction began on the river substructure using the temporary bridge. In April 2016, work also began on the superstructure of the land section, with 150 meters of steel girders erected by June.

Meanwhile, in South Sudan, as a result of peace talks led by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a peace agreement was reached on August 26, 2015. The former vice president then returned to Juba to be reinstated as the vice president, thereby temporarily increasing expectations for peace. Tension remained, however, due to soldiers from both sides being deployed across the city.

Then on July 7, 2016, the soldiers of the vice president’s sect fired upon the soldiers of the president’s sect, reigniting the civil war. This caused the project to be suspended yet again. On July 8, JICA advised project personnel to stay home. Then, on July 11, the Japanese government reissued an evacuation advisory. On July 13, all project personnel were evacuated out of the country on a charter plane.

On July 23, 2016, after the civil war broke out again, the vice president was dismissed and fled overseas, with the peace agreement having technically collapsed. The fighting then spread to regions outside of Juba as well, and in 2017, the number of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, such as Uganda, rapidly increased. There were over 640,000 refugees in 2017 alone.

In response to the political climate gradually stabilizing in the midst of these difficult circumstances, on December 20, 2017, the Japanese government lowered the travel advice level from Level Four (Evacuation Advised) to Level Three (Do Not Travel) for Juba City and its surrounding regions.

Then, in January 2018, JICA dispatched a mission to South Sudan to check that it was safe. In May and July 2018, the contractor also dispatched a survey team, and upon confirming that the country was safe, in December, personnel were sent to prepare to resume construction efforts for a second time. The project was then resumed for a second time on May 1, 2019.

Although operations at the worksite were completely suspended for approximately three years from the second evacuation up to the resuming of the project, local staff had continued to manage the site, keeping it in a good state.

As it had been about three years since the construction work was resumed, the main tasks that had to be done were checking the following items:

• • The condition of a pier which only had footing concrete placed, with wall reinforcement left exposed and submerged for three years
• • The condition of the shafts left in the river about 10 meters deep for three years when everyone was evacuated just before placing the foundation concrete after the excavation work was completed
• • The condition of the 150-meter steel girders which, although they were erected and underwent final bolt-tightening, suffered rust on the unpainted sections, as everyone was evacuated just before the painting work
• • The condition of the 450-meter-long temporary bridge spanning across the Nile River

All of these checks were conducted under the supervision of the Consultant engineer. Although some partial repair work was needed, there were no major problems, and so it was decided that the project could be resumed.

After resuming the project for a second time, the main construction work shifted from the substructure to the superstructure, and the substructure was completed in December 2019. In November, work began on installing the Langer bridges over the river. In January 2020, the first of four Langer bridges was completed using the lateral sliding method.

Although the project proceeded smoothly, the situation globally changed dramatically. On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was “a public health emergency of international concern,” and in March 2020, indicated that it was a global pandemic.

With cases of infection also apparent within South Sudan, it was judged that a lack of a medical action plan within the country made it difficult to stay, and so the decision was made to suspend the project for a third time and evacuate.

At this point, work on the superstructure was well and truly underway, entering two major critical phases:

• • Work to place the concrete slabs had just started on the Langer bridges
• • The Langer bridge assembly work had been completed, and it was right before they would be installed using the lateral sliding method

It was agreed that those working at the site would return to their home country after completing these tasks, with staff evacuating after completing their work in a calm and orderly manner.

At this time, international flights were limited, and as there were issues in the system to allow people into each country, the evacuation took some time. With the evacuation starting on April 17, all Japanese and third-country staff had returned home by June 1.

The number of those infected with the COVID-19 increased for a while in South Sudan as well, with the government taking measures, such as reducing the working hours of civil servants. From August onward, however, the number of infected dropped, and civil servants also returned to work as normal.

At the project site, in October, the water level of the Nile River rose, causing the temporary bridge to overflow several times. Although driftwood and other debris coming from upstream pushed against the temporary bridge, causing it to lean about 10 cm toward the downstream side, the local staff prevented it from worsening by performing routine maintenance work.

Meanwhile, after numerous discussions in Japan with JICA and consultants, a framework was gradually put in place to resume the project. In February 2021, the personnel who would resume the project arrived back in South Sudan, and after everyone spent two weeks in isolation at an accommodation, the project was resumed in the second half of March.

During the COVID-19 evacuation period, as mentioned earlier, the rise in the Nile River’s water level caused the temporary bridge to tilt downstream, and therefore, work was done to reinforce the slanted section. Inspections were also carried out at each location, and work resumed for the third time, with sights set on completion.

The work remaining when the project resumed was mainly as follows:

• • Placement of concrete slabs on the second Langer bridge
• • Erection of the third and fourth Langer bridges along with the placement of their concrete slabs

Work after the project was resumed progressed smoothly, and the lateral sliding of the last Langer bridge was completed in the second half of August. However, on September 25, only a month or so later, the Nile River, whose water level had begun rising the previous night, overflowed the temporary bridge by the morning, and the water level continued to rise until it reached its highest level on record. At midday, a cluster of water plants, large enough to cover a tennis court, became lodged beneath the temporary bridge, and the force from their buoyancy led to approximately 100 meters of the structure being swept away. This was an extremely shocking incident, and the sense of helplessness I experienced at the moment the temporary bridge collapsed is something I will never forget. As the lateral sliding of the last Langer bridge was completed a month earlier, we ultimately avoided any critical impact on the project as a whole.

The flood damage was not limited to a section of the temporary bridge being swept away, with the access route washed away and several sections submerged. Nonetheless, restoration efforts were undertaken and the project continued.

In January 2022, all slabs had been laid, and at the same time, work had begun to remove the temporary bridge. A part of the temporary bridge, a section of which, had been swept away, was greatly slanted, and so work to remove the bridge was extremely challenging. It was removed in early April.

Then, on May 19, 2022, under a clear blue sky, a magnificent opening ceremony was held. The event was attended by many VIPs, including the president of South Sudan, the vice president, ministers, the ambassador of Japan for Sudan, the director of JICA, and other guests from overseas.