Sierra Leone signs MOU with China firm for Freetown bridge

File photo of the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone
| Photo Credit: AP

Sierra Leone has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Road and Bridge Corporation and Atepa Group’s architectural firm to build an eight-kilometer (5 mile) bridge with an estimated cost of about $1.5 billion, the government said on Friday.

The bridge will link the capital Freetown to the town of Lungi, which is an airport hub, according to the statement.

A feasibility study for the project is expected to be completed in the next few months and construction to begin in the last quarter of 2024, after which it is estimated to take about three years to build, it said.