By Sulaiman Jalloh
According to Chernor Bah, Minister of Information and Civic Education, the estimated amount to construct the 8-kilometre-long Lungi Bridge is about One Billion Five Hundred Million United States Dollars (US$1.5b). The Information Minister, in a press release issued on 1st December, 2023 and signed by him, disclosed that the bridge will be constructed within three years, noting that the project is part of the Big Five Game Changers development agenda of the government of President Julius Maada Bio to improve the country’s technology and infrastructure.
“The Lungi bridge will link the country’s capital Freetown and the Lungi International Airport hub,” the press release stated, adding that it will also ease the transportation flow of international and local travelers.
Chernor Bah further disclosed that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Government of Sierra Leone and aChinese company called China Road and Bridge Corporation, citing that it is the architectural firm of the Atépa Group that will start feasibility study in a couple of months.
Minister Bah said construction is expected to start at the later quarter of 2024.
He explained that the bridge will be a pathway for sustainable economic growth, adding that it will complement the ultramodern Lungi Airport that was commissioned by President Bio on March 3rd, 2023, which according to him, cost about 270million dollars.
He clarified that the contract will be signed just after the assessment period.
Minister Bahpoints out that the Chinese Company China Road and Bridge Corporation, is among the largest engineering and construction companies around the world and operates in over forty countries across Asia, America, Africa, and Europe and is a member of the Fortune 500, ranking 61st.
According to him, the Atépa Group, including the architectural firms, has several globally renowned projects to its credit, including the Banjul Airport (Gambia), the headquarters of BCEAO in Dakar (Senegal), among others.
The Lungi Bridge has been a manifesto promise of several successive governments. None has fulfilled such promise. The project might be one of the biggest, if not the biggest legacies of President Bio.
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Monday, December 4th, 2023 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
