Southern Sudan plans to build cities in animal shapes

Southern Sudan intends to spend $10 billion (£6.4 billion) reshaping its cities on animals and fruit.

The capital of the war-torn region, Juba, will be rebuilt in the shape of a rhino and renamed Rhino City; Wau, the capital of western Bahr el-Ghazal state, is to be a giraffe; and the town of Yambio is being envisaged in the shape of a pineapple.

However, officials concede that the concept will take decades to carry out. Southern Sudan is rich in oil, but poverty and hunger are common after a civil war that lasted more than two decades. The region will hold a referendum on independence from the North in January.

The South's autonomous government had a £1.2 billion this year, and the UN says more than 90 per cent of the population lives on less than 65p a day.

The creative city planning has brought surprise in Juba, a town that until two years ago barely had any paved roads.

"It doesn't seem like the government should be using its resources or staff time when the people of Southern Sudan lack basic services like health care and water," Nora Petty, an aid worker in Juba with the Malaria Consortium.

Officials said the plan would bring order to the city's chaotic layout.

"Juba is made up of slums," said Jemma Kumba, the minister of housing and physical planning.

Detailed architectural drawings of Rhino City show that the police headquarters would be situated at the mouth, an amusement park at the ear, an industrial area along the back and residential housing throughout the four legs.

"It's very innovative. That's our thinking. It's unique. It's the Ministry of Housing thinking you have to be unique to attract the people," said Daniel Wani, undersecretary of Southern Sudan's housing ministry.