By Mabinty M. Kamara
Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Infrastructure, Dr. John Edward Tambi, has told Politico that construction work on the Lungi Bridge will start by the third quarter of this year.
He said despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has affected work in many aspects, engagement was at an advanced stage for the construction of the much anticipated bridge that will link the country’s capital, Freetown to the airport town of Lungi situated in the north-western part of the country.
“Corona has affected us a little bit, but we have been working with or without corona. We have been having (virtual) Zoom meetings,” Dr Tambi said in an interview.
The 7.6 kilometre bridge project was first announced by the Bio administration in June 2019. When it was launched, authorities said it would cost between US$ 1.8 billion to US$ 2.1 billion with the potential of raising US$ 11 billion in the next 25 years.
Dr Tambi was speaking to Politico in an exclusive interview on Friday, June 26. He said the project which was initially set to be a six-lane road had now been revised to be four lanes, with a provision for a two-lane railway in the future. The review has drastically reduced the cost of the project.
“We have looked at it realistically, what can we do that is not too ambitious, what can we do that the construction cannot be difficult, and what can we do that can save cost? So we have reduced that to 1.1Billion,” he said.
The US$1.1 billion will also have components like the construction of a new terminal for the Lungi International Airport, construction of a coastal road or corniche which will run from Cline Town to Aberdeen, development of a waterfront at Government Wharf, building industrial zones and the establishment of a free-trade zone, among many other facilities.
Dr Tambi said they were also in advanced stage to start several other infrastructure projects. Some of these include building a centralized office for government ministries. He said this would help government save cost from paying rent on some of its offices.
The Presidential Infrastructure Initiative (PII) was established in 2018 by President Julius Maada Bio, shortly after he took up office. The office is directly supervised by the office of the president.
The PII has a mandate to plan, design and implement strategic and transformative infrastructural projects that cut across all sectors, using innovative methods of funding, including attracting developers.
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