Bentiu - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Location

Bentiu is located in Rubkona County

Rubkona County

Rubkona County is an administrative division of Unity State, South Sudan.The administrative center is the town of Rubkona, across the Bahr el Ghazal River from the state capital Bentiu and the town of Yoynyang, which are also in Rubkona County...

, Unity State, in northern South Sudan

South Sudan

South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

, near the International border with the Republic of Sudan. This location lies approximately 654 kilometres (406.4 mi), by road, northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Bentiu sits on the southern banks of the Bahr al-Ghazal River, which separates it the town of Rubkona, which sits on the river's northern banks. The two towns are joined by the El Salaam Bridge that spans the river. The coordinates of Bentiu are: 9° 15' 36.00"N, 29° 48' 0.00"E (Latitude: 9.2600; Longitude: 29.8000).

Overview

The town is the administrative, political and commercial center of Unity State in South Sudan

South Sudan

. The State Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

maintains the headquarters of the state in the town. However the County Headquarters

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

for Rubkona County, in which Bentiu is located are situated in the town of Rubkona, across the river.

Economy

Unity Sate is the location of some of the largest oil deposits in South Sudan. The Heglig Oilfield to the north of Bentiu, straddles the border between Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

and South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

. The Greater Nile Oil Pipeline
Greater Nile Oil Pipeline
The Greater Nile Oil Pipeline is an important oil export pipeline in Sudan. It extends for approximately of which approximately 1.8 kilometres is submarine. It was constructed by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company and commenced operation in 1999...

, begins in Unity Oil Field in Unity State and extends north into the Republic of Sudan, to the refinery at Port Sudan
Port Sudan
Port Sudan is the capital of Red Sea State, Sudan; it has 489,725 residents . Located on the Red Sea, it is the Republic of Sudan's main port city.-History:...

, on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

. A lot of petroleum related activity goes on in and around Bentiu.
Kenya Commercial Bank (South Sudan) maintains a branch in Bentiu

Infrastructure

After the destruction during the Second Sudanese Civil War

Second Sudanese Civil War

The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....

, the infrastructure in and around Bentiu is now being rebuilt. The projects that have been rehabilitated, constructed or restored include the following:

Bentiu Airport
Bentiu Civil Hospital - Dotated and constructed by the China National Petroleum Corporation
China National Petroleum Corporation
China National Petroleum Corporation is a state-owned fuel-producing corporation and the largest integrated oil and gas company in the People's Republic of China...
Bahr al-Ghazal River - Redredged to allow barges free passage
Rubkona New Market - Largest source of fresh produce for both towns

Education

Bentiu is also the location of the planned Western Upper Nile University

Western Upper Nile University

-Location:The public university, when established, will maintain its main campus in the town of Bentiu, in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, close to the International border with the Republic of Sudan.-Overview:...

, a promise by the state's education officials to speed up the higher education system in Unity State. Bentiu has three (3) primary schools and two (2) secondary schools. These schools were teaching in Arabic before 2005 and in 2011 they are teaching in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

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