After two years under rebel control, Khartoum has turned into a wasteland, with important infrastructure destroyed, armed militias roaming the streets, crime and diseases spreading across the streets, and drone attacks here and there. 

As more than 2 million people, according to UN figures, are expected to head back to the city after the Sudanese Armed Forces took control of it, the army has promised to rebuild, an effort that could cost up to $130 billion, an amount of money that seems unlikely to be obtained by Sudan.

“Going back is something the Sudanese authorities are encouraging both the international community and ordinary citizens to do,” founder of the Confluence Advisory think tank Kholood Khair told Bloomberg, noting that they haven't provided any infrastructure, safety, or guarantees of services for those coming back.

She stated that while most returnees had come from Egypt, a large-scale return of people from countries like Kenya and Uganda was not being observed, and that individuals with children or relatives requiring medical care had so far chosen not to return.

'Monumental' job

David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, described the job as "monumental" to Bloomberg, following his September visit to Sudan, where he noted that many people are now choosing to leave Khartoum for a second time due to the poor conditions. He noted that "there is a tremendous sense that the country has fallen apart and hasn’t yet been put back together."

The devastation is widespread, with the city’s national museum having been looted and the egg-shaped Corinthia hotel, which is the main landmark of modern Khartoum, having been repeatedly hit, while prominent mosques, an Ottoman-era palace, and historic bridges have also been plundered or destroyed.

Despite an army-backed cleanup operation, feral dogs are feeding on rotting corpses, which is exacerbating the dengue and cholera epidemics that are ripping through returnee communities.

Furthermore, the army has restored about a third of the city’s water, but not nearly enough to handle the incoming influx, especially since in September, RSF drones hit major infrastructure, including electricity transformer stations and a nearby oil refinery.

Reconstruction efforts face several obstacles

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The capital required to rebuild Sudan is estimated at roughly three times its pre-war GDP of about $50 billion, a figure that includes 20 billion to rebuild the nation's vital oil infrastructure and an additional 3 billion to repair the international airport after its runways, hangars, and terminals were devastated at the war's onset.

According to a government preliminary assessment shared with three Western diplomats who follow Sudan, the government has told international donors that nationwide reconstruction needs may be in the region of $130 billion.

Countries including Russia, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Iran have all signed initial agreements with the government to participate in the reconstruction, but they will not do so before peace is fully restored and the war ends.

“For the flood gates to open so that development aid can be ramped up, there must be mutual confidence between the donors and the government. There is a trust deficit from both sides and it is impacting the ordinary people,” Amgad Farid, head of the Sudanese think-tank Fikra for Studies and Development, told Bloomberg.

Despite ongoing deficiencies, the initial wave of reopened government institutions includes police stations and the offices managing migration, civil aviation, electricity, and water, a development that coincides with parts of the capital being reconnected to the electrical grid and the resumption of initial government flights to Khartoum.

Famine remains an issue

However, before reconstruction can begin, humanitarian officials say feeding the millions of people on the verge of starvation should be the priority, and currently, the World Food Programme has the resources to support only 4 million people a month nationwide, which is just one in six of those in need.

In Khartoum, more than 800 US-funded soup kitchens have shut down due to aid cuts by US President Donald Trump’s administration, cuts which have reverberated across Africa and now threaten to tip millions more into famine.

Following a visit to the capital in September, Valerie Guanieri, the WFP’s assistant director, stated that it will take time and significant investment to revive Khartoum, adding, “But it is possible, especially as I witnessed communities’ strength and determination.” Grassroots foundations have begun restoring normalcy across the Sudanese capital.

Khalid Adel, coordinator of an initiative in the Alamarat neighborhood near the airport, told Bloomberg that soon after Khartoum was liberated in March, people began holding fundraisers to purchase solar-powered water pumps and worked with local police to set up security checkpoints. “But the work needed to reconstruct the neighborhood is huge in terms of security, finance and other needs,” he noted.

Sudan’s army, police, civil-defense forces, and grassroots citizen groups have begun removing unexploded ordnance, dead bodies, and waste from the streets, but they still have a long way to go.

Return to Khartoum proves momentous challenge

For some, the ordeal of returning to Khartoum has proved too much. Mohamed Ahmed moved back to the Bahri district in April to work as a solar-energy technician, a job that now provides him with good money that he is using to buy furniture and renovate his nearly destroyed home.

“But as life was very tough for my family without electricity and water, I sent them back to Atbara in June,” Ahmed told Bloomberg. Atbara is a city 200 km north of Khartoum.

Jamal Fatah returned to the capital from Port Sudan in May but now regrets his decision because the security situation makes him feel unsafe, citing an incident in late August when a group of armed men raided his house in Omdurman on the outskirts of Khartoum during the day. He went to the nearest police station, where they did nothing.