By Sulaiman Jalloh
Minister of Works and Public Assets, Dr. Dennis Sandy has revealed that on March 1st this year, the increased charges of the Wellinton-Masiaka toll road will come to effect, noting that the trigger behind the increment is the exchange rate.
According to Minister Sandy, since 2017, the China Railway Seven Group (CRSG), the road construction company in charge of the toll road, has maintained the same price despite the inflation of the exchange by over 400%. He said the CRSG had proposed a higher price but the government negotiated and agreed on reasonable prices, adding CRSG is one of the most credible construction companies in China and they are not only constructing roads in Sierra Leone but other countries as well. He added that no one wants to do business without making profit even if it is marginal.
Minister Sandy emphasized the impact of the exchange rate, noting at the time they started operation in 2017 the rate was NLe 7.5, but now the rate is almost NLe23, saying the rate has increased by almost 200%.
“The new tollgates prices include: group 1 which is the Keke or tricycles, from 1NLe to NLe3; group 2 [taxi] from NLe2 to NLe5; from NLe4 to NLe10 and from NLe18 to NLe40 for group 3 and group 4 respectively; and group 5 [heavy duty trucks] from NLe163 to NLe700; group 6 [gas tanker] from NLe100 to NLe250 and will only pay if they load gas and taking it to other districts from the capital city but when returning they don’t have to pay,” he noted, adding that the investment company CRSG is losing per-annum about six million dollars and now the government is saving lots of revenue.
Speaking on infrastructure, Dr. Sandy noted that the government of President Bio has recalibrated it to ensure that it is captured under his ministry, noting road plays a critical role in the government’s flagship programs such as agriculture and human capital development, adding there is no way President Julius Maada Bio can succeed in his development agenda without road infrastructure.
“There is no way the President can achieved his development goals if we do not consider road, and there is no way we can sustain the gains in terms of health and education that we call human capital development if we don’t have access to the hospitals and schools,” the Minister noted, adding that, since his assumption into office as Minister of Works and Public Assets, he has made lots of strides to improve road infrastructure.
He noted that the President is personate about connecting the sixteen districts across the country and to facilitate easy movement of people, goods and services.
According to him, the Wellinton-Masiaka highway isone of the important roads is the. Stressing on the importance of the Wellinton-Masiaka highway, he noted that drivers, vehicle operators and passengers are now safe than before when using the said road. He added that one kilometer road in West Africa costs about four hundred thousand United States dollars.
He was speaking on Tuesday, February 13th, 2024, during the Ministry of Information and Civic Education’s weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Conference Hall.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, February 16th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
