Some of the grants were used for the construction of a new bridge over the White Nile River to relieve traffic congestion in Juba and improve the transportation capacity and connectivity of South Sudan.

The new proposed Freedom Bridge funded by (JICA) would be 560 meters long with sufficient width for both east and west bound traffic and a pedestrian sidewalk.

On 19 March 2015, South Sudan President Salva Kiir ceremoniously broke ground in Juba on a Japanese-funded, $91-million project to build a new bridge across the River Nile.

[3] On 26 December 2016, The South Sudanese government called for the resumption of construction of the bridge, which would support the transport of supplies and the development of the area.

[6] On 19 May 2022, during the opening of the Freedom Bridge, those involved were the President Salva Kiir Mayardit, Vice-President Riek Machar, AU infrastructure envoy Raila Amollo Odinga and as well as the head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Akihiko Tanaka who made his first overseas visit since assuming office[7]