OPIS Foundation

There are ten regional airports in Sierra Leone, and one international airport. The Lungi International Airport located in the coastal town of Lungi in Northern Sierra Leone is the primary airport for domestic and international travel to or from Sierra Leone. Passengers cross the river to Aberdeen Heliports in Freetown by hovercraft, ferry or a helicopter. Each one of these services may or may not be operating at any point of time. Helicopters are also sometime available from the airport to other major cities in the country. The airport has paved runways longer than 3,047m. The other airports have unpaved runways, and seven have runways 914 to 1,523 metres long; the remaining two have shorter runways.

As we travelled to Sierra Leone, it became very quickly clear that one of the issues that prevents business expansion in Sierra Leone is the difficulty to travel in and out of the country. While it takes six hours to fly from London to the Lungi airport, on one occasion it took us nearly eight hours to go from the Lungi Airport to Freetown which is only ten miles away but on the other side of the harbor.  

On our other visits, three hours was the average time needed for this short trip. The Lungi airport is in a state of disrepair.  While we have considered the destruction of the existing terminal and the construction of a new terminal, we quickly became convinced that the solution recommended by the Sierra Leone government was a better one.  Accordingly, we propose to build a brand new greenfield international airport in the Waterloo area which will put the airport minutes away from the city.  The Lungi airport will then be converted to a cargo handling airport, as well as a training and maintenance center through the construction of new facilities. 

We also propose to redevelop a regional airline.  Sierra Leone Airlines ceased operation when the civil war erupted and has not restarted operation.  None of the remaining assets are of interest and we will start a new company with the blessing of the Sierra Leone government.  Three different types of planes will ensure multiple destinations can be served.  The large planes will cater to the international travelers and serve Europe, the Middle East and North America.  Mid size planes will travel to the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African Countries) airports.  The government of Sierra Leone already has an agreement with these other countries to facilitate these airline routes.  The smallest, primarily turbo-prop planes, will ensure a convenient travel solution within Sierra Leone.  At lease five of the existing airports in Sierra Leone are not capable of handling even the smallest turbo-prop planes and will need major upgrades, or be re-built.

Thousands of jobs will be created during the construction phase with many more opportunities for Sierra Leonean workers once the facilities are running.