Was Lungi Bridge A Political Ploy To Win Votes?

President Julius Maada Bio’s long-awaited Lungi Bridge, a project expected to transform travel and economic activity in Sierra Leone by linking Freetown directly to Lungi International Airport, remains unrealised years after its initial announcement, raising public frustration and political debate. The proposed 7–8 kilometre bridge was first publicly championed by Bio during his 2018 Presidential Campaign as a major infrastructure promise, but progress has repeatedly stalled, despite multiple memoranda of understanding, shifting timelines, and financing negotiations.

Efforts to push the project forward have included signing a landmark Memorandum of Understanding in June 2025 with U.S.-based Acrow Corporation under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, aimed at securing private financing, engineering expertise, and project management for the bridge. The deal, backed by the U.S. government, is designed so that Acrow will build and operate the bridge before transferring it back to Sierra Leone after a concession period, potentially spanning 30–35 years. Estimated construction timelines under this framework suggest a build period of three to six years once work begins.

Prior to the U.S. agreement, the government had also signed a MoU with China Road and Bridge Corporation and the architectural firm Atépa Group in December 2023, envisaging the 8 km crossing at an estimated $1.5 billion cost. That agreement included ambitions to start construction in late 2024 with a three-year build schedule, but the deadline passed without visible groundbreaking.

The repeated postponements have intensified scrutiny from political opponents and citizens alike. In early 2026, social media exchanges highlighted public impatience, with critics pointing to the project’s absence of physical progress despite the December 2024 scheduled start. Opposition figures have directly challenged government communicators on why, several years after key agreements, construction has not yet commenced.

Critics argue that the delays stem from weak financing solutions, changing strategic priorities, and technical planning challenges. Some commentators also suggest that the original prioritisation and framing of the bridge as either a formal manifesto commitment or a presidential aspiration, have contributed to confusion and unmet expectations. Government spokespersons have previously suggested financial constraints and competing policy agendas influenced the pace of progress.

Despite delays, Bio himself has reaffirmed his commitment to the project on multiple occasions. In 2023 he publicly acknowledged the “debt” owed to Sierra Leoneans for the unfulfilled promise, and insisted the bridge remained a key national development goal. Yet, five years after his initial pledge, construction has not yet begun.

The bridge, once completed, is expected to drastically reduce travel time between Freetown and the international airport, bolster tourism, stimulate trade, and create jobs across Western and Port Loko districts. However, with Sierra Leone now in 2026 and no construction underway, many citizens and analysts question whether the project will materialise within the current presidential term or remain a future aspiration for subsequent administrations.