Maridi is a town in

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of th ...

Location

Maridi is located in Maridi County, Western Equatoria State, near the international border between South Sudan and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. This location lies approximately , by road, west of Juba, the capital of

and the largest city in that country. The coordinates of Maridi are: 4° 54' 36.00"N, 29° 27' 0.00"E (Latitude: 4.9100; Longitude: 29.4500).

Overview

Maridi has been a regional center of government since colonial times. It is also reputed to be a center of education in South Sudan. Yambio is the state capital of Western Equatoria State, which is 140 km from Maridi. Khazana Lake is a popular picnic spot and one can find NGO and UN staff enjoying the scenic beauty on a typical Sunday. The County remains lush green during the rainy season with Mango trees full of fruits. The habitat boosts of a diverse fauna, most common of them being the baboons, deer and the black mamba.

Population

In 2011, the population of Maridi was estimated at approximately 18,000. Maridi County is further divided into five Payams which have a total 17 Bomas under them. The population of the county is a mixed of many tribes prominent being, Azande, Baka, Mundu, Muro Kodo and Avukaya.

Transport

The town is served by

Maridi Airport Maridi Airport is an airport serving Maridi in South Sudan. Location Maridi Airport is located in Maridi East County in Maridi State, in the town of Maridi, near the International border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This locatio ...

known to be the largest airport in Western Equatoria. The airport sits at an elevation of , above sea level. It has a single unpaved runway, the dimensions of which are not publicly known at this time. Roads (murram base dirt roads) to and from Maridi have been reconditioned and are quite good.

History

In September 2015, an oil tanker exploded on a road about 20 km from Maridi, at Bahir Naam Payam, killing over 170 people. The truck had gone off the road and overturned. People were approaching the truck in order to siphon petrol from it when it exploded. Injured were taken to Maridi Civil Hospital and Olo Primary Health Clinic in Mambe Payam, according to

Radio Tamazuj Radio Tamazuj is an independent daily news service in South Sudan and Sudan. Background Radio Tamazuj is also a current affairs broadcaster covering South Sudan, the southern states of Sudan, and the borderlands between the two countries since ...

Points of interest

The points of interest in and around Maridi include the following: * The offices of Maridi Town Council * Maridi Central Market *

- A

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

civil airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...

, with a single unpaved runway * Maridi Power Sector - A locally operated electric membership company was inaugurated in 2011. The system is served by a 1.2 MW diesel generation station. Electricity is distributed at 11 kV and customers served 230/415 V, 50 Hz power, for approximately 12 hours per day. As of this edit there are approximately 600 electric meters installed on the system. * Maridi Teacher Training Institute * Ambi Teacher Training Institute * U N County Support Base Maridi * Don Bosco school and youth centre * Kazana Lake Maridi *Maridi National Health Training Institutes *Maridi School of Nursing and Midwifery * Maridi water treatment plant - A water treatment plant and distribution system was inaugurated in 2010. This plant serves much of the town through water points located near roads and populated areas.

References

{{reflist

External links

Location of Maridi At Google Maps
Populated places in Western Equatoria Equatoria