By Sorie AbuBakarr, Freetown, Sierra Leone, September 29, 2023.     

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has assured that he will construct the Lungi Bridge which he referred to as a transformative infrastructure project, one of the biggest investment opportunities in Sierra Leone, and not just a political promise.

According to Journalist Amadu Lamarana Bah, Bio made the assurance to Sierra Leoneans during a Town Hall meeting in Washington DC saying, “I know I still owe you the Lungi Bridge, I have said it and I will do it.”

If constructed, the bridge will shorten by a significant amount, the traveling distance from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone to Lungi, Port Loko district where the Freetown International Airport is located.

The Lungi Bridge project was one of the campaign promises made by Maada Bio during his 2018 presidential election campaign. However, five years later, there has been no headway with the project.

Opposition parties and several Sierra Leonean have criticized the President over failure to fulfil his promise.

In January 2022, President Bio lamented at struggles to finance the project during a meeting with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

“Currently, a mix of ferry and private boats move people and goods across. The economic and other benefits of a bridge that joins the two landmasses are immense. But there is a struggle mobilizing exclusively private capital to finance such a large venture.” He said.