Airport has become ‘modern national asset’

As the Sierra Leonean economy picks up, Freetown International Airport will play an increasingly important role in the nation’s development.
Extensive repairs and modernization have been underway over the last five years, bringing the airport in line with internationally-accepted standards and levels of service. Dr. Prince Harding, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications says it has become “a modern national asset that all Sierra Leoneans are now proud of and a major engine for national growth and development.”

Situated across the Sierra Leone River, eight miles north of the capital, the airport is expected to see a dramatic increase in the number of passengers and amount of cargo passing through in the next few years. It will be particularly important in the development of the country’s tourism industry.
Dr. Harding is calling on other international airlines to follow the example set by S.N. Brussels, which recently became the first European carrier to operate flights to Freetown since 1997.

DONALD BULL General Manager of Sierra Leone Airports Authority

With the help of funding by the World Bank, the arrivals and departure wings of the passenger terminal building have been upgraded, improvements have been made to the runway and new equipment has been procured.
Further improvements–including widening to allow the runway to accommodate larger modern aircraft–have been financed by the Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA). “The airport is now more responsive to customer needs than every before,” says SLAA’s General Manager, Donald Bull.
A further phase of improvements is proposed in the SLAA’s investment program up to 2007. These include updating air traffic, security and safety equipment, and improvement of essential airport infrastructure.

The authority is also calling for a study into the cost of rehabilitating Hastings airport, 15km from Freetown, along with eight provincial airstrips.
Donor support and outside investment are being sought to fund the improvements. “We are in the process of marketing the plan to investors,” says Mr. Bull. “We are looking for development partners with whom to enter into a mutually beneficial and profitable partnership that will enable Freetown airport to fulfill its obligation towards the process of national revival.”