China Geo Engineering Corporation signs MoU with Sierra Leone for the Rokel River water supply project

On October 25, 2018, the Sierra Leonean government, represented by the Ministry of Water Resources, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) for the construction of the River Rokel Water supply facilities. The signing ceremony took place at the State House in Freetown. Once completed, this project will relieve the demand for potable water from households, industries, and other economic activities, provide access to potable and reliable water service to Freetown and communities within the scope of the project. The project will also address the current irregularities in the supply of water to Freetown and its surrounding communities, as well as ensure that the supply of water to Freetown and communities along the transmission line is sustainable. The Water Resources Minister further explained that the purpose of the “River Rokel Water Supply Project” is geared towards expanding the urban water supply system in Freetown and its peri-urban towns such as Masiaka, Newton, Waterloo, Devil Hole, Hastings, Jui, Freetown East 3, Freetown East 2 and Freetown East 1. The project will be situated in the Port Loko District close to the bank of the Rokel River around the Rokel Village: the site selection is based on the year-round water availability in the Rokel River. The Minister of Water Resources noted that the facilities will maximize the volume of safe drinking water supply from its current low state of 80,000 metric tons per day to 280,000 m^3 per day. The Government of Sierra Leone will partner with CGC to develop the River Rokel Water Project. As of 2019, the government of Sierra Leone was conducting a feasibility study to pipe water 60 kilometers (37 miles) to Freetown from the Rokel River. According to the Sierra Leone Telegraph, the project is set to begin in 2020, and will be managed on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Chinese financing is currently unknown.

Additional details

An article in the Chinese embassy in Sierra Leone website shows that the project was planned as early as 2013. In 2016, Awoko News reported that the project was still under feasibility study.

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