Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has said his government remains determined to expedite the much talked about bridge project linking the capital, Freetown to the airport town of Lungi in the north of the country.
Bio told a visiting World Bank Executive in Freetown on Thursday that the bridge is key to the development of Sierra Leone as it would open the country up for investment.
“The Lungi bridge, for us, is transformational because it is important to open up this country. We have identified it and because it is going to open up the country, we are still determined to continue with it. We are committed to better the lives of our people and we are creating the eco-system that invites investments,” he was quoted saying at a meeting with World Bank officials at State Lodge, his official residence.
Lungi home to Sierra Leone’s only international and functioning airport is linked to Freetown by a river body.
Transportation between the two locations is therefore always tedious.
The government says this is affecting tourism due to the experience of travelers.
It hopes that bridging it will open up traffic.
But bridging Lungi is an alternative project to the controversial proposal to build a new airport on the mainland, an idea floated by Bio’s predecessor.
But this idea is not favoured by the World Bank and its sister international lenders like the IMF which have been openly vocal about it.
Anne Kabagambe, Executive Director at the World Bank Group for Africa Group 1, was quoted saying that the government’s vision to construct the Lungi bridge will be one of the greatest achievements for Sierra Leone.
KC/as/APA