Sudanese Commercial Law Office (SCLO) is Sudan's leading legal adviser on public-private partnerships and project finance. We have acted for the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and major infrastructure clients on structuring, documenting, and delivering PPP projects across energy, water, agriculture, transport, and industrial sectors.
SCLO's founding principal, Wael Abdin, was appointed National Legal Expert by Castalia Advisors on the World Bank's PPP Support for the Republic of Sudan engagement. He co-authored a report on Sudan's legal, regulatory, and policy framework for PPPs and private sector participation in infrastructure, identified framework gaps, and supported the drafting of a PPP bill compatible with the Sudanese legal system. This level of direct involvement in Sudan's PPP legislative framework is unmatched by any other law firm operating in the market.
Wael Abdin is also the author of the Sudan chapter in Chambers & Partners' annual Project Finance Guide — the definitive international reference for project finance practitioners operating across jurisdictions.
SCLO's PPP and project finance practice covers every stage of the project lifecycle. At the pre-investment stage, we advise on the legal and regulatory framework applicable to a proposed project and identify the most appropriate structuring vehicle under Sudanese law. At the transaction stage, we draft and negotiate concession agreements, BOT contracts, EPC contracts, offtake agreements, and government support documents including direct agreements and sovereign undertakings. Where a project involves a Sudanese government counterparty, SCLO's understanding of public procurement law and administrative procedures is central to getting documents executed. At the lender and DFI advisory stage, we act as local counsel to international financing institutions, providing legal due diligence, security opinions, and regulatory clearance analysis.
Among our mandates: National Legal Expert for the World Bank Group's PPP Support for the Republic of Sudan engagement. National Legal Expert for Landell Mills on the establishment and operation of the PPP Unit for the Sudan Livestock Fund's Al Samoud Programme, mandated by IFAD — advising on legal structuring of banking transactions linked to agricultural value chains and recommending legal and policy reforms. Advising the New Khartoum International Airport on the structuring of a build-operate-transfer contract for a fuel storage facility under Sudanese law. Advising the Khartoum State Water Corporation on the Al-Manara build-operate-transfer water project.
Sudan's post-conflict reconstruction agenda has placed infrastructure at the centre of international engagement. International developers, DFIs, and their legal advisers entering this pipeline will require Sudan-law counsel with demonstrated PPP experience. SCLO is that counsel.