The West African country Sierra Leone’s government legislature approved the construction, financing and concession construction-operation-transfer agreement of the Longi Freetown Airport Expansion Project. The Longi Freetown Airport Expansion Project has now been approved by the Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

The agreement was signed with Summa Airport (SL) Co., Ltd. Summa is an independent Russian group company with holdings in the fields of port logistics, engineering, construction, telecommunications and oil and gas.

Project scope

According to Sadiq Sillah, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Aviation, the cornerstone of the project was laid by President Julius Mada Bio last month. The project will mainly focus on the construction of a new passenger terminal. After completion, it can accommodate 3 million passengers, build VIP rooms/presidential lounges, taxiways and a new airport transportation terminal.

Other work will include resealing the runway, deploying search and rescue firefighting units, repairing parking lots and road safety and its signs.

The project is funded by Summa for US$270 million and is planned to be completed within 24 months. The company will operate the airport within the contractual period before transferring it to Sierra Leone.

Project benefits

Minister Sadiq Sila stated that the completion of the project will benefit the people of Sierra Leone and provide more than 2,000 employment opportunities for the people of Sierra Leone; he added that this will also boost the tourism industry and provide the government with much-needed revenue.

The minister also stated that this modern airport can handle 8 large aircraft at the same time and will become a hub for cargo aircraft in the subregion.Editor/Huang Lijun