By Abass Jalloh
The Minister of Works and Public Assets, Peter Bayuku Konteh, has updated the public on the current status of the construction roads across Sierra Leone undertaken by the government.
At a Press Conference hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communication on Thursday 3rd March 2022, the minister stated that they had completed the construction of the Wellington/Massiaka and the Limkokwing University/Regent roads.
He said this year they would be completing all donor-funded roads across the country namely the Hill Side Bye-Pass, Lumley-Tokeh, Moyamba-Moyamba Junction, Pendembu-Kailahun, Bo-Bandajuma, and the Bandajuma-MRU Bridge. The much-needed Bo to Tonkolili road and the stretch from Bandajuma to Pujehun would also be completed.
He said roads in Freetown, Waterloo, Bo, Kenema, Mattru Jong, and Bonthe are also to be upgraded and finished. The minister spoke about three key bridges- Mabang, Magbele, and Moala, all he said are almost completed, and ready for use.
Konteh stated that work would also commence on replacing four major cable ferry crossing points with bridges in Mattru Jong, Gendema, Manowa, and Tompari.
Talking about plans for 2022, the minister said they would start the construction of the Kpetema-Mattru Jong Road, Kono-Guinea Border Road, and Kailahun-Koindu Road.
He also mentioned the feeder roads that were upgraded in 2021 and ongoing work on others, this year.
He went on to say that his ministry, Sierra Leone Roads Authority, and other stakeholders had identified priority roads to be awarded to capable road construction companies as “concessionary contracts for tolling”. According to him, those routes identified are Kenema-Joru-Zimmi, Songo Junction-Moyamba, Bo-Yele-Matotoka, Falaba-Kurunbola, Mano Junction-Tongo-Bumpe, and Kambia-Guinea Border Road.
Asked whether resources were available to start or continue these projects, the minister made reference to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement that’s in place and being explored, since the government he said hasn’t got the resources at the moment to undertake the construction of these roads.
Konteh also mentioned the state of the work on the Hastings Police Training School and Kossoh Town road, which he admitted took off to a slow start but having now been paved, work is expected to continue in earnest.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (14/03/22)
