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Add to Preferred SourcesThe support from the African Development Bank has helped to rehabilitate and expand the Matotoka-Sefadu road, easing the movement of goods and people in the northern and eastern provinces of Sierra Leone.
“From one day, it now takes two hours or less to travel the road. The road is safer and accidents have been minimized. Perishable products now get to their destination in good time,” vice-chairman of the Matotoka Drivers Association said.
The road’s rehabilitation has also eased the transportation of minerals, including diamonds and iron ore, to the Sierra Leonean port of Nitti, thereby boosting mining activities and exports.
As a lead financier, the Bank provided an African Development Fund loan and grant of $34 million, covering about 77 percent of the total project cost, excluding resettlement and compensation costs. The Bank’s support covered 70 km of the road, generating socio-economic benefits to communities along the route.
The communities now have better access to health facilities, farms, markets and schools. Women stall holders along the roadside have reported an uptick in business. What’s more, bus services between the capital Freetown and Sefadu have resumed.
As part of the project, new classroom blocks were constructed in three existing schools to increase enrolment and reduce overcrowding in classes.
The National Minerals Agency estimates that diamond exports have increased since the road rehabilitation was completed in 2018, with improved access to mining sites in diamond-rich Kono district.
Officials say licenses for mining have leaped with renewed investor interest and the agency has now established an office in Kono to improve regulation and governance.
Original source: AfDB
Published on 12 March 2020