The China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG), which is a company, discussed and agreed with the Government of Sierra Leone to reconstruct the Wellington-Masiaka Road to a four lane on a Build Operate and Transfer basic (BOT). This agreement came into being as the Government did not have the necessary fund to finance the reconstruction of the Wellington-Masiaka highway into a four lane in spite of the fact that it would reduce the high accident rate, reduce the travelling time by more than two hours, encourage migration of the population form Freetown to the hinterland as well as generation of economic activities along the road corridor. The funding aspect was then agreed upon between the two parties and that recovery of the investors’ money will be achieve through Tolling of the reconstructed road. In the final agreement in December 2015, it was agreed in clause 10.4 as follows:

The Toll Tariff shall be adjusted subject to a review on the base traffic data by both parties whenever the exchange rate varies by 10%. The concessionaire (GoSL) shall ensure that the Toll Tariffs are published at such time so as to enable the adjusted tolls to be charged with effect from the requisite date under this Concession Agreement, at any rate, not later than two days after mutual agreement.

This agreement in question was laid before parliament and ratified thus becoming mandatory.

The CRSG has shown understanding in the execution of this agreement as follows:

The exchange rate has increased from about 7.5 Leones to the dollar in 2017 to about 23 Leones to the dollar in 2023. The CRSG has not increased the Toll tariff over this period which represents an increase of more than 200%. The company has suffered huge loss as result of the exchange rate over the five years period.

The progressive increase of the exchange rate of the Leones to the dollar over five years period (2018-2023) has translated into losses for the company as the traffic also has varied from the projected. In the cases of vehicles in Group 3 and Group 5 which normally attract considerable revenue have very high negative values.

The investor has fully met not only their maintenance obligations of the road but has also increased the employment of Sierra Leoneans. The company has worked closely with the communities at times of great needs. For example, the company contributed during the Ebola period, COVID-19 period, and mudslide and to the local communities along the road corridor.

The Company has only charged higher tolls for Group 5- heavy trucks as they cause the most damage to the highway. In particular they are extremely overweight as they caused more damages to the roads. The results of these overweight vehicles have a direct impact on road maintenance.

Unfortunately, the actual number of the above vehicles in Group 5 category is far less than the projected.

For light trucks and medium trucks less than ten tyres, for example, 6 or 8 tires, categorized into Group 4, the toll fees are incredibly low, which is a great deal for the general public to transport their supplies.

The Company has provided pre-paid access cards for large enterprise and transportation companies Different standards of preferential policies will be applied according to the amount of recharge. The move is also a further cost saving concession for heavy trucks.

In addition to pre-paid access card, Monthly Pass Cards are available for residential and private vehicle near and along the highway Toll plazas.  Eligible residents can spend a small monthly fee for unlimited travel through designated toll gates.

As the only investor in the BOT road project, (first of its kind in Sierra Leone), CRSG’s business results and difficulties encountered are closely watched by investors from all over the world, including Chinese companies. This will inevitably have an impact on investment decisions in other fields. We call on the Government of Sierra Leone to implement the following:

The exchange rate adjustment according to the contract is normal and the way to ensure the minimum risk to the investor.

The Legislature and the Executive branches of Government to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the investors according to the agreement signed in December 2015. We are of the opinion that it is conducive to attracting new investments and the development of the country in various fields.

We believe that CRSG’s investment program failure will have adverse effects and far-reaching consequence in the near and long future on other proposed BOT programs of the Government.