The project aims at expanding the supply of reliable, low-cost, efficient, environmental-friendly, and socially sustainable electric power generation and support reform of Sierra Leone’s power sector. The completion of the Bumbuna project will enable the country to overcome one of the key constraints on growth: frequent shortages and blackouts of power.
The first component of the project – hydroelectric and transmission infrastructure – will be a 50MW run-of-river hydro power plant consisting of a 88m high rockfill dam with an asphalted concrete upstream face, a crest-length of 440m, a water intake structure and two ‘morning glory’ spillways with associated tunnels. It also includes the construction of a power house and the installation of electromechanical equipment as well as the completion of a 200km transmission line linking Bumbuna with the capital, Freetown.
The second component – environmental mitigation, resettlement, watershed management and benefit sharing environment management plan – is aimed at protecting the reservoir from excessive sedimentation by improving agricultural practices in the Bumbuna catchment area.