Chinese Government provides $1.5 million grant for Lumley-Juba Bridge Construction Project

In 2018, the Chinese Government provided grant funding for the Lumley-Juba Bridge Construction Project. The total cost of the project was $2.4 million. The Chinese Government provided $1.5 million of grant funding for the project and the Government of Sierra Leone was responsible for providing $0.9 million of counterpart funding. The purpose of the project was to construct a four-lane, 81.8-meter bridge and 150 meters of connecting roads in the western part of the capital city of Freetown. Upon completion, the bridge was expected to reduce traffic congestion near Lumley Market. China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) was the contractor responsible for implementation. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on November 14, 2018, and construction was completed on April 25, 2019. One day later, on April 26, 2019, the bridge was officially opened and renamed the Sendgbe Pieh Memorial Bridge after a Sierra Leonean hero.

Additional details

1. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies this project as being supported by a $2 million concessional loan from China Eximbank. AidData identifies this project as a project financed by a $1.5 million Chinese Government grant (based on a pronouncement made by the President of Sierra Leone at the bridge commissioning ceremony). 2. Other project titles include the Wallace Johnson Bridge Project, the Sengbe Pieh Memorial Bridge Project, the Lumley Market Second Juba Bridge Project, and Lumley Market Second Juba Bridge Project. Chinese project titles include 中国援塞拉利昂蓝茉莉市场改造朱巴桥项目, 朱巴二桥工程, and 承建的塞拉利昂蓝茉莉市场第二朱巴大桥. 3. Sierra Leone’s Office of the President reports that this $1.5 million grant from the Chinese Government was provided alongside another $1.5 million grant for 30 garbage trucks (captured via Project ID#62873) as well as a flyover project (captured via Project ID#63735). 4. CRSG is registered in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and is a large state-owned enterprise, which is a subsidiary of the construction conglomerate, China Railway Group Limited (China Railway Engineering Corporation).

Number of official sources

12

Number of total sources

21