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DID YOU KNOW ?
That Sudan has a total landmass of 2.5 million sq
km, the largest in Africa. Diversified ecosystems,
immense fertile land (80 million hectares), natural
pastures (24 million hectares), forest area (64 mil-
lion hectares).
That considerable water resources are available
from the Nile and its tributaries. Sudan also has a
long coastal line at the Red Sea (853 km) with the
deep-water port of Port Sudan.
The Sudanese economy continues to grow at a fast
pace. Economic growth was estimated at 10% in
2007, is among the highest in Africa. The relevance
of Sudan has increased in the field of investment
during the last period due to its increasing economic
importance from one side and its abundant econom-
ic resources from another.
That Sudan has become the target of businessmen
from all around the globe and is increasingly becom-
ing an attractive destination for international invest-
ments. The establishment of a Ministry of Investment
reflects the attention the state pays to this process
through creating a suitable investment climate.
Oil exports started in August 2000 and refined oil
products and natural gas in July. According to the
Ministry of Finance and National Economy, oil rev-
enues amounted to $582 million in January 2008.
On the way to Port Sudan, about 200 km north-east
of Khartoum lies ancient Meroe, the home of a few
dozen pyramids spread over a small hill about one
quarter square kilometer in size. The pyramids,
much smaller than their well-known counterparts in
Egypt, are the remains of a royal cemetery from the
Meroitic kingdom (between 300 B.C. and 300 A.D.)
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and
Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the
Nile’s water and fertile soil, but the former being the
longer of the two. The White Nile rises in the Great
Lakes region of central Africa, while the Blue Nile
starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia flowing into Sudan
from the southeast. The two rivers meet in Khartoum.
The name of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum,
comes from the Arabic word meaning “end of the el-
ephant trunk”, due to the shape given by the conflu-
ence of the two Niles.
Port Sudan