By Ragan M. Conteh
Following a recent conducted tour of the ongoing construction of the Wellington-Masiaka Four-Lane Highway organized by the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Works and Public Assets, the Minister of Works and Public Asset, Peter Bayoku Conteh has confirmed the China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) Company is doing quality work on the road.
According to the Works and Public Assets Minister, the purpose of visiting the construction site was part of their mandate as institutions charged with the responsibility of monitoring all road works and measuring the quality of work on road projects.
Minister Conteh assured that under the ‘New Direction’ government, they won’t support any cosmetic projects that will be of no use to the citizenry, but to support worthy road projects that will add more value to the country’s roads network system.
Addressing the people of Masiaka, Minister Conteh told them the road work in progress is satisfactory and that they want the contractors to build the road according to international standard with quality and within the stipulated time.
“We want the road to be completed within the time frame and we also want to build roads for the development of people, but it must be value for money,” Minister Conteh assured. “We want to ensure one million Leones road contract should meet the value of one million Leones.”
Highlighting the challenges their company is facing with regards the road construction, the Toll Gates Manager, Dock Du said they have problem with securing land for the construction of three markets as part of their agreement with the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) for the road project, adding that they also face challenges from drivers plying the highway.
The Manager observed that many commercial and private drivers are bypassing the toll gates using alternative routes to escape payment at the toll gates. He therefore appealed to the GoSL to address the challenges he has highlighted in order to enhance the speedy completion of the highway.
The CRSG Company, according to the Toll Gates Manager, has agreed to reduce the price of the toll gates for 90 days to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy so that the economic burden on Sierra Leoneans could be minimized.
CRSG Project Manager, Peter Komeh disclosed the road work is 65-70 percent complete and that construction work on the road is very standard, noting that the road project costs over US$153 million.
Mr. Komeh however lamented the irreparable loss of two CRSG Company expatriates and one Sierra Leonean staff that he said died in active service.
The Deputy Director of SLRA, Abdulai Ansumana reechoed the satisfactory way in which the road is being constructed, adding that when competed, the road will reduce traffic congestion, enhance the transportation of passengers and goods from the capital to the provinces; vice versa.
The Director furthered that SLRA always works towards the construction of quality roads in the country that must be done within the agreement and the stipulated time.
In Masiaka Town, Chief Pa Kombrabai Kargbo expressed thanks and appreciation to the Minister of Works, SLRA officials and the CRSG for the work on the road, noting that before this time they had experienced many accidents on the road, but today the GoSL has done tremendous work by upgrading the road to four lanes.
The traditional custodian recalled that the construction work commenced in 2016 and lauded the current government for continuing with the road project. He assured that his subjects are very happy with President Julius Maada Bio for continuing with the road project and prayed that the project would be completed according to the time frame in the contract agreement.