By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
The Freetown City Council (FCC) on Friday 8th July 2022 launched the full feasibility studies for the Freetown cable car system at the New Freetown City Council Hall.
Speaking at the event the Mayor of Freetown Her Worship Madam Yvonne Aki Sawyer said the event is a significant milestone in the process of the design, financing and implementation of the Freetown cable car system, which she described as an innovative and sustainable transport intervention captured in the Urban Mobility Cluster of Freetown.
We are thrilled to have secured funding for the full feasibility studies through a competitive process, Freetown was amongst fourteen successful cities (out of applications from 86 cities) to receive a grant funded by the German, French and UK Governments that will be implemented by C40Cities Finance facility and GIZ the mayor stated.
She concluded that the launch provided an opportunity to share with stakeholders the rationale for the Freetown cable car system and how it will complement and interface with the World Bank funded Sierra Leone integrated Urban Mobility projects, technical aspects of the cable car system and its operations including the power source and safety measures and how the C40Cities and Finance facility team will use their experience and networks to support FCC to structure the financing required for the Freetown cable car system viable.
We are pleased to host Marco Salm and Marcx Lohmann C40Cities Finance facility who is based in Bonn, Germany) here in Freetown for the week with Ing Modupe Williams as the FCC lead focal person and work on the full feasibility studies are to commence next week and will be completed on or before March 2024 the Mayor said.
Present at the launch was the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development Rev Dr. Jonathan Titus Williams, the German Ambassador to Sierra Leone Host Gruner, the GIZ country director Christian Widmann, the JICA country manager, the FCDO private sector lead and representatives of other MDA’s.
Also present were FC councillors, the FCC chief Administrator, staff and other members of the public and school children from schools along the proposed cable car routes.
