The government on Tuesday announced a plan to send several hundred Ground Self-Defense Force engineers to South Sudan next year as part of a U.N. peacekeeping operation. The GSDF has started procuring materials and equipment for its mission in South Sudan, which became Africa's 54th independent country in July, seceding from Sudan after many years of civil war. It is hoped that the GSDF will contribute to the improvement of infrastructure, which the country badly needs.
The GSDF engineers will be sent to South Sudan's capital Juba and its adjacent areas. Early next year, an advance party of several GSDF members will be sent. The first unit of some 200 engineer troops will be sent in February and March, and start work in April before the rainy season sets in. The second unit of some 320 engineer troops will arrive in and after April.
The GSDF members will construct roads and bridges. Because infrastructure has hardly been developed in South Sudan, the GSDF units may have to stay there for about five years.