Highway Project Will Connect Southern Sudan to Outside World

Work crews have started paving Southern Sudan's first highway, which will connect the new nation to the international community. This highway brings the south one step closer to full independence.
A military band welcomed Southern Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, the American consul¹ general in the south, Barrie Walkley, and local officials to a remote stretch of road near the Sudan-Uganda border.
This is the southern end of a 192 kilometer, heavily mined, potholed dirt road that a United States-funded project started work on five years ago. On Thursday, the first stretch of pavement was laid down on what will soon be the south's first paved highway, linking the southern capital, Juba, to the world outside the new nation's borders.
Kiir was the guest of honor during the ceremony.
"It is development that we need and development starts with these roads," said Kiir.
By the time the pavement reaches Juba, the United States will have spent $225 million on this road. U.S. Consul General Barrie Walkley said this is the United State's flagship project in the south.
"Five years ago it would have taken you eight hours to drive this road," said Walkley. "One year from now it will take you two-and-a-half hours to drive from Juba to the Uganda border."
Southern Sudanese voted nearly unanimously last month to separate from the northern part of the country. The vote was widely hailed as transparent², free and fair. Now that countries have begun to recognize the south as an independent nation, the south is starting to focus on transforming into a viable³ state.
President Kiir, a regular churchgoer who rarely speaks publicly outside of Sunday mass, acknowledged the huge hurdles⁴ faced by the south.
"God created the world in six days. It will not be easy for us to build Southern Sudan in two years. But we will have to make a change, so that after two years there is a difference between now and then," added Kiir.
He described the building of roads as the first step to development. Other road projects include improvements on routes into Kenya and Ethiopia.
Also in attendance on Thursday was Joseph Lagu, the leader of the south's first rebellion, which ended in 1972. Lagu stressed the importance of links to Sudan's southern and eastern neighbors over links with the north of the country.
"We now belong to East Africa, not North Africa," said Lagu.
The road should be finished by February, 2012 and will connect with the road to Uganda's capital, Kampala. Beyond that, there are paved roads all the way to the Kenyan port in Mombassa, the south's closest link for exports, and to Tanzania and beyond.
Much of the south remains⁵ inaccessible⁶ because of poor roads, especially during the rainy season. The security problems faced in areas closed off to authorities and aid during the harsh dry season was highlighted earlier in the week when 105 soldiers and civilians⁷ were killed in a remote area of southern Sudan's Jonglei state.

1 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

2 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

3 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

4 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。