South Sudan which gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 has not been incharge of its own airspace for over a decade.
However, the Juba government has announced that it has finally completed setting up its own Air Traffic Management System and will thus reclaim control of its sovereign airspace from neighboring Sudan.
President Salva Kiir on Wednesday said, “Taking full control of our airspace will enable our country to register airlines as well as collect fees.”
China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) has been working closely with Juba to establish the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS).
The President said the Ministry of Transport and the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority are in the process of taking over control of South Sudan’s territorial airspace from Sudan.
The air traffic management system, which began construction in July 2020, was completed in December 2023 and is now ready for commissioning Kiir said.
The ATMS project is a cooperation project between South Sudan and the Chinese government, which includes training South Sudanese technicians to prepare them for managing the airspace.
It also involves the construction of the Juba ATMS center, a new air traffic control tower and operation building, a surveillance system, a navigation system, a communication system and the civil engineering and supporting facilities required by the system, such as meteorological facilities, calibration flight tests and personnel training.
In 2016, South Sudan signed a three-year agreement with Sudan under the International Civil Aviation Organization to manage and control its airspace.
According to the agreement, Juba would take over control of its airspace territory after training and acquiring a qualified workforce to oversee the system, enabling the collection of fees from all aircraft using the airspace.
