town, east-central Sudan (Sudan, The). It lies along the right bank of the White Nile just below the latter's confluence with the Sobat River, 430 miles (690 km) south of Khartoum. The Junqalī project, a joint Sudanese-Egyptian plan aimed at increasing agricultural production, diverts the waters of the White Nile from the As-Sudd swamps by means of a 224-mile (360-km) canal that starts from the mouth of the Sobat River near Malakāl. The town is linked by road with Nāṣir and Ar-Rank. A ferry service on the Sobat River originates from Malakāl, which also has a domestic airport. Pop. (latest est.) 72,000.