Sudanese Prime Minister pledges to rebuild Khartoum on first capital visit

Khaberni

4 days ago

Khaberni -Sudanese Prime Minister Kamal Idris vowed on Saturday to rebuild Khartoum during his first visit since assuming office in May to the capital that was devastated by more than two years of war.
In an inspection tour that included the city's destroyed airport, bridges, and water stations, the new Prime Minister presented comprehensive reform projects in anticipation of at least some of the millions of residents who fled the violence returning.
Idris stated, "Khartoum will return as a proud national capital," according to the official Sudan News Agency.
Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrived at Khartoum airport on Saturday, which the army regained in March after being controlled by the Rapid Support Forces for nearly two years.
The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces began in the heart of the capital in April 2023, which led to the city being torn apart.
United Nations estimates indicate that tens of thousands have died in the bustling capital before 3.5 million of its residents fled.
According to the Khartoum State Media Office, Kamal Idris visited on Saturday the army headquarters and the city airport, which are national symbols whose earlier retrieval along with the presidential palace earlier this year marked the army's victory in the capital.
However, reconstruction is expected to be a formidable task, with government estimates placing its cost at around 700 billion dollars for Sudan, nearly half of which is for Khartoum alone.
The pro-army government, which moved to Port Sudan on the Red Sea early in the war and continues to operate from there, has begun planning for the return of ministries to Khartoum even as fighting continues in other parts of the country.
The authorities have launched operations in the capital to properly bury bodies, remove thousands of unexploded ordnances, and resume administrative services.
During a visit to the Al Jazeera oil refinery in north Khartoum, the largest oil refinery in Sudan, Idris promised that "the national facilities will return better than they were."
The destroyed refinery was retaken in January, but refurbishing the facility that previously processed 100,000 barrels a day will take years and cost at least 1.3 billion dollars, according to officials reported by Agence France-Presse.
Kamal Idris, who worked in diplomacy and is a former United Nations official, was appointed by al-Burhan, the de facto leader of Sudan, in May to form an administration called the "Government of Hope."
The war has caused the largest hunger and displacement crisis in the world, with nearly 25 million Sudanese suffering from severe food insecurity and forcing more than 10 million Sudanese to be internally displaced throughout the country.
Another four million Sudanese have fled across the borders.
In the meantime, there are no signs of a decrease in the fighting in South Kordofan and the Darfur region in western Sudan, where the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of killing hundreds in recent days in attempts to expand their controlled areas.