Bulletin 60 UNJLC Sudan

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• SECURITY
• COMMON NFI PIPELINE
• SURFACE TRANSPORT
• AIR OPERATIONS
• FUEL PRICES
• LOGISTICS ASSESSMENTS
• COMMUNICATIONS
• MISCELLANEOUS

 

SECURITY

South Darfur: The security situation continues to be a constraint on effective transport in South Darfur.  The main road transport routes of Nyala-Manawashi-El Fasher and Nyala-Labado-Muhajaria -Ed Daen remain closed to UN travel:

West Darfur: There are no reported incidents along the major supply routes to Geneina. Traffic is ongoing as normal.

COMMON NFI PIPELINE

NFI Commodities	NFI Stock Levels in Sudan as of 18 May, 2005					Totals from 11 May
	El Obeid	El Geneina	Nyala	El Fasher	Total
Blankets	176,759	13,925	51,548	53,475	295,707	308,439
Plastic Sheet 4x5m	-	21,710	1,810	14,160	37,680	28,796
Plastic sleeping mats	-	-	3,750	10	3,780	14
Soap (Kg)	455,161	222,584	70,678	90,225	838,648	994,978
Mosquito Nets	41,400	1,080	1,585	9,120	53,185	98,265
Jerry can 10 lt – 20 lt	-	13,200	71,109	25,598	109,907	117,038
Bucket w. lid, 20 lt	118,471	33,608	14,451	13,920	180,450	193,660
Sanitary material	-	-	-	-	-	-
Women's wraps	-	-	950	13,033	13,983	16,183

There is currently a major break in the pipeline for UNICEF-procured sleeping mats, and women's sanitary material and clothing.  The next major deliveries of these items to the Darfurs are not expected to begin arriving before late June as follows:

                                         Expected         % of Estimated
Item                                  Quantity         Delivery year's total needs
Sleeping mats                     495,000            late June 35%
Sanitary material                 526,400            late July 30%
Women's clothing                193,166            late June 22%

As mentioned last week, UNHCR has contributed several items to the common pipeline from stocks in Khartoum, the following of which are in transit to the Darfurs:

NFI Item	El Fasher	El Geneina	Nyala	Total
Plastic Sheets	4,835	5,000	5,000	14,835
Jerry Cans	7,784	7,000	0	14,784
Sleeping Mats	5,000	5,150	5,000	15,150
Blankets	7,400	0	10,000	17,400

Further items are presently on order. Additionally, 8,600 UNHCR kitchen sets have been provided in Khartoum for distribution to the Darfurs. 

South Darfur: 31,000 mosquito nets have been dispatched from El Obeid since 18 May and are expected in Nyala on the 28th of May.

Major distributions have not commenced due to the lack of stocks.  However UNJLC continues to update planning figures for pre-rainy season NFI distributions with feedback from participating partners. 

West Darfur: NFI stocks in West Darfur were replenished last week with the arrival of plastic sheeting, jerry cans and buckets.

SURFACE TRANSPORT

Weekly Surface Transport Loads, gross kg, in Khartoum : 10 May – 15 May
Actual Date Load	Consignor	EL FASHER	GENEINA	Grand Total
10th May 2005	ACTED		7,809	7,809
15th May 2005	COOPI	5,350		5,350
	SC Sweden	17,500		17,500
Grand Total		22,850	7,809	30,659

CARE continues to experience problems with pending items not been received from consignors. Agencies are reminded to ensure that items are available when the request for transport is submitted. There have also been instances where agencies have submitted requests for transport and then sent the items using alternative transport. Agencies must ensure that they cancel any requests for transport if the service is no longer needed to allow space to be allocated to those who most need the service.

West Darfur:  CARE has reported a general shortage of 10-tonne trucks on the market in El Geneina, particularly for the route Salea.  The shortage is of particular concern because once the rains begin in West Darfur; most outlying areas will be inaccessible by the larger 15-tonne trucks for up to three months.

AIR OPERATIONS

WFP-HAS presently has the following services operating out of Khartoum to and from:

Darfurs:
El Geneina, El Fasher and Nyala - Daily
Zalingei - Sunday, Monday, Wednesday
Ed Daein - Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Transitional Areas:
Abyei and Kadugli - Sunday and Wednesday

Southern Sudan:
Wau and Raja - Sunday and Wednesday
Rumbek - Tuesday and Saturday
Juba, Pibor, Bor and Torit - Monday and Thursday

Booking Procedures:

• All flights must be booked 72 hours in advance
• Baggage weight limit per person is 15kg
• All passengers must hold a valid photo I.D.
• Check in must be done one and a half hours before departure.

The AN-12 dedicated to NFI deliveries has left for major planned maintenance and is likely to be out of service for at least two weeks.  The delivery of NFI items by air is therefore suspended unless there is an emergency delivery, which will be handled on food-carrying C-130's or IL-76's.  As a result, the eight agencies who were supposed to send one ECHO vehicle by air are kindly requested to join the UNJLC-facilitated road convoy that will depart on the 28th of May.  

South Darfur:  The maintenance on the Nyala runway is likely to be completed on the 28th of May.  However the airport may have to shut down completely for three days next week in order to finish repairs.

FUEL PRICES

FUEL PRICES / DARFUR CRISIS
As of 18 May, 2005
	Khartoum		El Fasher		Nyala		El Geneina		El Obeid
	IG	L	IG	L	IG	L	IG	L	IG	L
Diesel	305	67	600	132	800	178	1000	220	342	76
Petrol	500	110	800	176	1000	223	1600	352	570	127
Kerosene	342	75	700	154	n/a	n/a	1250	275	250	56
Jet A1	330	73	850	187	2,999	659	n/a	n/a	368	82

*Price in Sudanese Dinar per Imperial Gallon / Litre - NB: 1 IG = 4.546 Litres

According to a representative of Petronas, the shortage of diesel in Khartoum which became evident last week can be attributed to lack of transport from Port Sudan for imports, along with increased activity of the humanitarian community in preparation of the rainy season. Although Sudan is a crude oil producer, local refinery production is insufficient to support the greatly increased consumption as a result of rapid economic growth and the combined needs of the African Union, peacekeeping operations and the humanitarian community.  

The Sudanese Petroleum Corporation (SPC) plans to impose a 40% mark-up on transport prices to attract transporters back to the fuel companies.  Transporters are providing services to the humanitarian community for the transport of more lucrative dry cargoes in preference to hauling fuels.

The recent lack of Jet A1 fuel is no longer a major concern.  However whilst there are sufficient stocks in the country, the lack of transport from Port Sudan may cause some shortages in Khartoum.

North Darfur: There has been a shortage of Jet A1 fuel over the past week due to a lack of barrels in El Fasher.  An AU-escorted convoy carrying fuel is currently on the way from El Obeid.

West Darfur:  The local price of Diesel stabilized but remains relatively high compared to the last 4 months. The price of Petrol remained stable from last week.

LOGISTICS ASSESSMENTS

South Darfur:  UNCLC continues to gather data from agencies regarding the various rates charged by transport companies in the South Darfur region. Once all data is received, a comparison will be done based on vehicle type and destination. 

West Darfur:  THW is in the process of renewing their travel permits and hope to be able to return to Geneina shortly to investigate the possibility of setting up a light vehicle workshop.  UNJLC has invited logisticians from all agencies to participate.

HEAT submitted a proposal for a vehicle workshop to include generator maintenance for all humanitarian agencies in El Geneina.  The proposal has been forwarded to OCHA and UNHCR for comments and assistance in obtaining funding.

WFP will conduct a three-day warehouse management workshop for agencies in EL Geneina during the first or second week of June. 

This week UNJLC will complete a fuel survey that will compare agencies consumption to the capacity of fuel traders in the region.  Additionally, UNJLC hopes to produce a comparison of transport prices paid by all agencies in El Geneina.

Fuel for the electricity corporation was received and this week allowing town electricity to be resumed as normal, with service every other day.

COMMUNICATIONS

West Darfur:  Several agencies in El Geneina have advised that they lack the capacity to install or configure HF and VHF radios.  WFP's service to the humanitarian community is limited to programming VHF handsets and checking HF base station installation.

UNJLC has identified a commercial company, RESET Company Ltd. that handles radio installations and configuration.  They are currently suppliers for UNMIS and other agencies. UNJLC cannot however endorse the company as they have had no direct experience with them.

MISCELLANEOUS

All 75 of the ECHO funded vehicles have now been distributed to the recipients, including the allocations to HAC.  As the air transport service does not have the capacity to move all the vehicles to the Darfurs in the required timeframe, a convoy is being facilitated and is expected to depart on the morning of 28 May to El Fasher via El Obeid, and then on to Nyala and El Geneina. 

UNJLC and OCHA will host a mandatory briefing session by UNDSS, who will be providing leadership for the convoy, for all convoy participants next Thursday, 26th of May, in the large conference room at UNDP in Khartoum.  Convoy safety, security and other relevant details will be provided at the meeting.  Agencies are therefore requested to attend with their drivers and one international staff member. 

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ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting during an emergency to the Humanitarian Coordinator and overall to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to coordinate and optimize the logistics capabilities of humanitarian organizations in large-scale emergencies. UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP who is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the Centre. UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions channeled through WFP. More information on UNJLC in general and on the South Asia operation can be viewed on the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org)