Juba

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Juba
Juba Aerial View
Country	Southern Sudan
State	Central Equatoria
Elevation	550 m (1,800 ft)
Population (2008 Estimate)
• Total	250,000
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

Juba (Arabic: جوبا‎) is the capital of Southern Sudan, which will become the independent state of South Sudan on 9 July 2011. It is also the capital of the state of Central Equatoria. Juba is on the White Nile river.

Population

In 2005 its population was 163,442. Based on analysis of aerial photos, the best estimate of several donors working in Juba calculated the 2006 population at approximately 250,000. The 5th Sudan Population and Housing Census took place in April/May 2008 but the results were rejected by the government of Southern Sudan.^[1] Juba is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, and is developing very rapidly due to oil money and the Chinese coming for work and development.

Population growth:

Year	Population
1973 (census)	56,737
1983 (census)	83,787
1993 (census)	114,980
2005 (estimate)	163,442
2008 (estimate)	250,000^[2]

History

In 19th century, a trading post and a mission was located in the vicinity of Juba called Gondokoro. It was the southernmost outpost of the Turkish garrison, supported by a handful of soldiers, mostly ill due to the malaria and blackwater fever that was dominant in the region. Gondokoro was also the base of the explorer and campaigner Samuel Baker during his expeditions to what is now Southern Sudan and northern Uganda from 1863 to 1865, and from 1871 to 1873.^[3]

In 1922, a small number of Greek traders arrived in the area and established Juba on the western bank of the White Nile. The Greeks who had excellent relations with the indigenous tribe of Juba (the Bari), built what is known today the Business District. The buildings which today house the Buffalo Commercial Bank, Nile Commercial Bank, Paradise Hotel, the Norwegian Consul's House and so many others, were originally built by the Greeks and were the only permanent structures to be found until the early 1940s.

From 1899 to 1956, Juba was in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan which was jointly administered by the United Kingdom and Egypt. British hopes to join the southern part of Sudan with Uganda were dashed in 1947 by an agreement in Juba, also known as the Juba Conference, to unify northern and southern Sudan. In 1955, a mutiny of southern soldiers in Torit town sparked the First Sudanese Civil War, which did not end until 1972. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, Juba was a strategic location that was the focus of much fighting.

In 2005, Juba became the interim seat and the capital of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), although the proposed interim capital before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was Rumbek. With the advent of peace, the United Nations increased its presence in Juba, whereas many Southern Sudan operations had until that time been managed from Kenya. Under the leadership of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations established a camp known as "OCHA Camp", which served as a base for many United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Infrastructure

The city is a river port and the southern terminus of traffic along the Nile, properly called the Bahr al Jabal section of the White Nile. Before the civil war, Juba was also a transportation hub, with highways connecting it to Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Because of the war Juba can hardly be called a transportation hub anymore. Roads and the river harbour are currently not in use due to disrepair. The United Nations and Southern Sudanese government are repairing the roads, but full repair is expected to take many years. In 2003, the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) started to clear the roads leading from Juba to Uganda and Kenya. It was expected that these roads would be completely de-mined and rebuilt in the course of 2006–2008. The rebuilding of the roads, which are mostly un-paved, takes a tremendous amount of effort and time because of the limited work season due to the lengthy rainy season, which lasts from March until October. The roads are considerably important for the peace process in Sudan as people need them to return to their homes and to regain what they feel is a normal life again. The first road that has started to be rebuilt is the road to Uganda. This road is particularly important, as many of the original inhabitants of Juba fled to Uganda during the war. As of 2009^[update], there are three paved roads in Juba, one which was re-surfaced in July. The main one is a concrete road, built by the British in the 1950s.

As of April, 2009, Juba Airport is the site of large numbers of flights bringing UN and NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) aid into Southern Sudan, as well as passengers and general air freight. The airport is very busy, among the busiest in East Africa^{[citation needed]}. The construction of a new terminal was begun in late 2007 when the oil prices were very high ($100+). Since then, with the oil prices going back down, the fate of the new terminal is uncertain^{[citation needed]}. As of December 2009 there are now daily flights from Nairobi's International "Jomo Kenyatta Airport" with three airlines, daily flights from Khartoum with only one airline, daily flights from Entebbe International Airport and weekly flights from Addis Ababa. Juba is served by the Juba Airport (JUB/HSSJ). The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has a large compound near the Juba Airport.

Between 2008 and 2011, the Ugandan government and the South Sudanese government, undertook joint efforts to develop a railway link between the Northern Ugandan city of Gulu and Juba, with an extension to Wau. A memorandum of understanding between the two governments was signed to that effect in August 2008.^[4] The same memorandum outlined plans to develop the road network between the two countries. Recent media reports from the region suggest that the railway link from Juba, may link directly with Kenya, bypassing Uganda.^[5]

Business

As of October 2010^[update], several regional and international businesses have established presence in Juba. The Kenyan banking conglomerate Kenya Commercial Bank has its Southern Sudanese headquarters in the city and a branch network of eleven (11) branches throughout Southern Sudan.^[6] The three indigenous Southern Sudanese commercial banks namely; Buffalo Commercial Bank, Ivory Bank and Nile Commercial Bank, all maintain their headquarters in Juba. Equity Bank, another regional finance services provider also has a branch in Juba. National Insurance Corporation (NIC), the leading Ugandan insurance services provider maintains an office in the city.^[7]