Khartoum: Two years of relentless conflict in Sudan have decimated the country’s infrastructure, leaving a landscape of charred bridges, paralyzed power stations, dry water pumps, and gutted hospitals. The Sudanese government estimates that it would take more than $1 trillion to reconstruct the nation—$300 billion for the capital Khartoum alone, and $700 billion for the rest of the country.
But the vision of rebuilding remains a distant dream amid ongoing hostilities between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), continuous drone strikes on critical infrastructure, and a global shift away from foreign aid. The United States, once Sudan’s largest donor, has dramatically reduced its assistance, further complicating recovery efforts.
Since April 2023, the war has left tens of thousands dead or injured and displaced nearly 13 million people, making it what humanitarian agencies describe as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
Khartoum: A Ghost Capital
Once a bustling metropolis, Khartoum is now virtually uninhabitable. Its residents endure extended blackouts, contaminated water, and collapsed health services. The international airport lies in ruins, with the skeletons of aircraft scorched on its runways. Downtown Khartoum’s prominent structures are burnt-out husks, while affluent neighborhoods have become desolate war zones, littered with destroyed vehicles and unexploded ordnance.
“Khartoum is not habitable. The war has destroyed our life and our country and we feel homeless even though the army is back in control,” said Tariq Ahmed, 56, who briefly returned to his plundered home before fleeing once more.
The human toll is now compounded by a health crisis, with a fast-spreading cholera outbreak claiming 172 lives and infecting 2,729 people in the past week alone—mostly in Khartoum.
National Systems in Collapse
The broader impact extends across Sudan. In Darfur and central regions, towns have suffered similar fates. Oil output has plunged to 24,000 barrels per day—less than half the previous capacity—while the al-Jaili oil refinery, a vital facility, has sustained $3 billion in war-related damages.
“Without refining capacity, Sudan now exports all its crude and relies on imports,” said Oil and Energy Minister Mohieddine Naeem. “It also struggles to maintain pipelines needed by South Sudan for its own exports.”
Earlier this month, drone strikes hit fuel depots and the airport in Port Sudan, attacks the government attributed to the United Arab Emirates—a claim the UAE has denied.
Khartoum’s power grid has been obliterated. The national electricity company has turned to Egypt for support, increasing imports to Northern Sudan as repeated drone assaults have left its grid on the brink.
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Systematic Looting and Destruction
As citizens return to their ravaged neighborhoods, they face a surreal scene: entire roads, including Nile Street, have been dug up in search of copper wiring. A single ditch along that stretch runs 4 km long and one meter deep, stripped bare and charred.
Khartoum’s two central water stations were among the earliest targets. According to state spokesperson Altayeb Saadeddine, RSF forces dismantled equipment and siphoned off fuel oil for vehicles, forcing many to rely on unsafe Nile water or ancient wells—contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases.
“There has been systematic sabotage by militias against hospitals, and most medical equipment has been looted and what remains has been deliberately destroyed,” said Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, who places health sector losses at $11 billion.
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Rebuilding Without Resources
With 2 to 3 million people expected to return to Khartoum in the near future, the risk of more outbreaks looms large. But with no full-scale reconstruction plan in sight, aid agencies are focusing on small-scale solutions.
“What we can do … with the capacity we have on the ground, is to look at smaller-scale infrastructure rehabilitation,” said Luca Renda, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative. He suggested that limited projects—such as solar-powered water systems, mobile clinics, and decentralized schools—could be more feasible under the circumstances.
Renda noted that while the conflict has been devastating, it may also present an opportunity to rethink the centralization of services and invest in sustainable energy solutions moving forward.
