The U.S. government awarded engineering and development firm The Louis Berger Group a five-year contract with a $700 million limit, to improve infrastructure in southern Sudan.

U.S. Agency for International Development issued the deal on Thursday, which will work towards developing transportation, social and economic infrastructure in southern Sudan regions of Abyei, Blue Nile, and the Southern Kordofan regions. Sudan has endured two decades of civil war which has crippled county's economy and infrastructure.

"With this program, we have the ability to lay the groundwork for real, long-lasting improvements in education, health, and economic growth in Southern Sudan, which in turn will help families to return home and recover from the war,' said USAID/Sudan Mission Director Katherine Almquist.

Louis Berger Group will focus on transportation, urban development, water, sanitation, public buildings, energy, and natural resources.

Previous contracts by the New Jersey-based Group with USAID include reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sudan