The Lungi Bridge Project is a proposed major infrastructure project in the West African country of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. The 7km long bridge will link the Lungi, Sierra Leone, Lungi area to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, passing over the estuary of the

Sierra Leone River The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Bankasoka River and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide (6–16 km) and 25 miles (40 km) long. It holds the major port ...

. Freetown International Airport is located at Lungi. Transit between Freetown and the airport currently requires a boat journey or a road trip that can take 3 hours. The project was announced by President

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

. Its projected cost was initially $2bn, making it the country's largest infrastructure project. In a state of the nation address in May 2021 the budget was reduced to $1.2bn with a claim that construction would start later in the year.

History

Lungi International Airport was originally constructed as a base for the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and was subsequently converted for civilian use. Lungi Airport is the country's only

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

. The difficulty with travelling between the airport and Freetown had always been a problem with various boats from canoes, government ferry and fast boats used to cross the estuary. In the past, helicopters, a hovercraft and light aircraft (to Hastings airfield) were used to pass over the Sierra Leone River estuary. The previous government of

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leone, Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent mo ...

had proposed the new

Mamamah International Airport Mamamah International Airport was an airport under construction in Sierra Leone. It was part of the infrastructure to be built as Sierra Leone prepared to shift its political and administrative capital city, capital, away from over-crowded Fre ...

, located near Songo Village, Koya Chiefdom in Port Loko District. The project was subsequently cancelled by President

s government.

References

{{coord missing, Sierra Leone Proposed bridges in Africa Transport buildings and structures in Sierra Leone