The Environmental Protection Agency of Sierra Leone had attended the public disclosure on the Lungi Airport extension project conducted by the CEMMATS Group Ltd on behalf of Summa Airports (SL) Ltd. as a key requirement for the issuance of an environmental impact assessment license. The public disclosures were done on Monday 11th April 2022 in Port Loko, 12th April 2022 in Lungi and 13th April 2022 in Freetown.
Whilst attending these public disclosures, the Deputy Director Field Operations and Extension, Lamin Opie Tarawalie on behalf of the Board, management and the Executive Chairman of the Environment Protection Agency gave a brief statement on the work of his Agency and its mandates towards the broader scope of protecting the environment and the specific role towards public disclosures undertaken by any proponent who wants to undertake a project in the country. While he was commending the participants for their attendance for the public disclosures, Mr. Tarawalie encouraged them to make their meaningful contributions towards the process and assured them all that their ‘inputs will be taken into keen consideration by the Environmental Protection Agency’.
The EPA Deputy Director also noted that prior to the commencement of any project that may affect the environment and communities, it is mandated by legislation that an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) study be done, and, upon approval by the Agency, a license is issued.
The reason for an Environment Impact Assessment is to identify and assess potential environmental impacts of the project on the biophysical and human environment, proffer measures to avoid, minimize, mitigate and manage potential significant adverse impact to acceptable levels.
The EIA process is in fulfilment of the Sierra Leone Regulatory Standards, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and Environmental Health Safety (EHS) Guidelines, Equator Principles and the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) recommendations.
The Summa Lungi Airport extension project intends to construct new airport terminal buildings and associated infrastructure and rehabilitate the existing Lungi International Airport runway, Presidential and Cargo terminals located in Port Loko, District, Northern Region, Sierra Leone.
The Project will ensure rehabilitation and the construction of a taxiway to enable multiple large aircraft to be processed simultaneously, enabling the airport to grow in terms of passenger numbers and cargo planes.
The Project will aid the objective of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to support growth in regional trade and free movement enhancing economic development in West Africa.
It could be recalled that the Government of Sierra Leone signed a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement for the construction, financing and concession of the airport with Summa Airports (SL) Ltd. The agreement covers a 2-year construction period followed by a 25-year operation period.
