By Alusine Fullah
The Government of Sierra Leone announced on 1 December, 2023 the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Freetown with the Chinese Company China Road and Bridge Corporation and the architectural firm of the Atépa Group for the construction of the Freetown-Lungi Bridge.
The project is part of President Julius Maada Bio’s Big 5 Game Changers vision to improve Sierra Leone’s Technology and infrastructure; link the capital with the important Lungi airport hub, and ease the transport flow of international and local travellers.
According to Chernor A. Bah, the Minister of Information and Civic Education, the Freetown-Lungi Bridge will be 8 km long, with an estimated investment cost of about $1.5 billion. The bridge is to become a pathway for sustained economic growth and is to complement the new airport commissioned on March 3, 2023 by President Maada Bio.
It has really begged the question on when this project will kick start. Since president took over office he has really sung about the construction of this Lungi Bridge. He made this promise during his first term in his office and now this is his second term and no sense of possibility is seen for this project. So, in lieu with that, many Sierra Leoneans are asking does he going to fulfil his promise (as he always refer himself as a president of ‘tok and do’)? Many critics have criticised that the Lungi Bridge is a fake promise by President Bio.
According to the government, the feasibility study of the project would be completed in the next few months, and, barring unforeseen delays, construction would commence in the last quarter of 2024. The project was estimated to take about three years to complete from the start date.
The Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation is among the largest engineering and construction firms globally and operates in more than 50 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It is a member of the Fortune 500, ranking 61st.
The Atépa Group, including the architectural firm, has several globally renowned projects to its credit, including the Banjul Airport (Gambia), the headquarters of BCEAO in Dakar (Senegal), the ECOWAS Fund headquarters in Lomé (Togo), and the Monument of the Renaissance, also in Dakar. It has offices in several countries in Africa and Asia.
Off all this MOU, guess what, there is no sign of development/ movement for this project as planned during the signing of the MOU. The questions of when and how seem to remain unanswerable to President Bio.
