ABSTRACT
Three alternative sites had been designated for preliminary surveys, one on the Blue Nile near Sennar, and two on the White Nile stretching southwards from Kosti. Investigation soon showed that the present Kenana site near Rabak offered the best combination of natural resources and facilities for siting a major sugar estate. The total area of 66,000 hectares (165,000 feddans) was leased from the Government on the east bank of the White Nile, adjacent to the subsequently constructed Kosti-Sennar-Wad Medani-Port Sudan highway, and also near the Kosti-Khartoum road. At the time Kosti was connected with Juba in southern Sudan by a regular riverboat service, though river traffic is once again at a standstill due to resumption of the civil war in the southern region.
