The European Union has funded the road construction from Bo to Zimmi, near the Liberian border and three bridges: Sewa Bridge, Wanje Bridge, and the Moa Bridge for €18,454,778,00 million. The target date for completion is March 2020. The construction project is divided into two lots. Lot one is the three major bridges; the Sewa Bridge, which is 225 metres long; the Wanje Bridge, which is 80 metres long, and the Moa Bridge at 160 metres long. Lot two is the construction of 150 kilometre road to connect Sierra Leone and Liberia. Head of Maintenance, Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA), Alfred Momodu, said infrastructure is the bedrock for development. The road and bridges to Liberia is the most expensive in the country. Momodu said the road will connect Sierra Leone to Liberia and Guinea. The road will traverse eight chiefdoms, and two districts (Bo and Pujehun).
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Patrick Kinesi, a motorbike rider, said they used to pay Le20,000 to cross rivers. With the bridges, they won’t have to pay a dime to cross over with their bikes. “We used to take four hours to travel to some other parts of the District, but now spend limited time to cross over,” Kinesi said. A Head Teacher whose school was partly demolished by the project, said the contracting company promised to build two classrooms for them, but they are yet to see that promise being actualized. Some of the residents in the District have expressed dissatisfaction with the Senegalese contracting company, CSE, because local youths were not employed. The contractor and consultant from CSE, Lackner said, over 80% of their workers are Sierra Leoneans. “If we are to complete this project next year, then every one of us needs to come onboard to see its completion.” Lackner said. Director of the National Authorizing Office, Ambrose James, said the European Development Fund (EDF), which Sierra Leone is benefiting from, is the 11th EDF, from 2014-2020.
SKS/13/8/19
By Sulaiman Karim Sesay
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