People disembark a plane after being evacuated from Juba, South Sudan capital, on arrival at Entebbe International AirportCopyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

S.Sudan inaugurates first Air Traffic Management Control System

by · Africanews

South Sudan launched on Monday a national air management system built by China, hailing the inauguration of the facility as a step towards full control of its skies.

The war-ravaged east African country previously relied on a 2016 agreement with neighbouring Sudan to control its airspace.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

President Salva Kiir announced on his Facebook page that the country had inaugurated its "first fully operational independent airspace management system" under a deal with China, which also trained more than 80 South Sudanese technicians.

"We have finally reclaimed full control over our airspace," Kiir told the inauguration ceremony, thanking the Chinese for their involvement.

He added he would ensure the country developed "a framework that ensures that this system works without interruption".

"We cannot afford to fail," he continued.

South Sudan lacks reliable transport infrastructure and plane crashes are frequent.

Earlier this year, 14 people died in a small plane accident after the aircraft took off from Juba.

Minister of Transport Rizik Zakaria said the air management system was a "cooperation project between South Sudan and the Chinese government".

South Sudan remains mired in poverty and instability, despite millions in humanitarian aid, and has recently seen a resurgence in violence.

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