Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir proposed that the African country offer land for free to “serious investors,” with priority for “vital projects,” state-run SUNA news agency reported today.
A timeline for these projects must be laid out and the land would not be designated for any investors before their seriousness is proven, the news agency reported Bashir as saying in a speech in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.
Bashir said that priority would be given to projects that the country needs most, such as wheat and sugar production, SUNA said. The Khartoum-based news agency did not say whether the proposal would be voted into law or when it would be implemented.
Southern Sudan will assume control of 75 percent of Sudan’s daily oil production of 490,000 barrels when it is declared independent from Sudan on July 9. The Sudanese government is working to diversify its exports away from oil to cope with the secession of the oil-rich south, SUNA quoted Bashir as saying June 2.