Vice President Reviews BADEA-Funded Works at Milton Margai Technical University

Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has inspected construction and rehabilitation works at Milton Margai Technical University’s Goderich and Congo Cross campuses, reviewing progress on facilities supported by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

The inspection took place on 13 October 2026 as part of President Dr Julius Maada Bio’s directive for the Vice President to monitor Government-supported infrastructure projects. The review focused on construction quality, value for money and the benefits expected for citizens.

Facilities under review

At the Congo Cross campus, some rehabilitated classrooms had already been handed over and were being used by students. At Goderich, Dr Jalloh expressed satisfaction with the quality of the completed work, particularly the male and female student hostels.

“My role is to support the contractors, project managers and consultants so that they can deliver these projects,” the Vice President said during the inspection.

The university component of the Sierra Leone Education Sector Support Project includes an amphitheatre, an auditorium, an administrative building, male and female hostels, staff quarters and a multipurpose building with 18 lecture rooms.

The project also includes furniture, laboratory equipment and kitchen appliances. Procurement of those items was reported to be at an advanced stage, although no completion date was provided.

Project progress

According to the October 2026 project progress update, construction across the Education Sector Support Project’s five lots stood at 86.4 percent as of September. Overall disbursement was 71.14 percent, representing US$48.38 million of the project’s total US$68 million.

Lot 4, undertaken by SKM Construction, covers work at the university’s Congo Cross and Brookfields campuses, Prince of Wales Secondary School and a ministerial building. It was approximately 80.1 percent complete as of September.

Lot 5, undertaken by EBCO Bitar, covers construction and rehabilitation at the Goderich campus and was approximately 93.1 percent complete during the same period.

The wider project also covers Eastern Technical University at Bunumbu and Government secondary schools in Bo, Kenema and Magburaka. Its stated purpose is to improve educational infrastructure and strengthen teaching, learning, administrative and residential facilities.

Calls for completion and monitoring

Project managers at both campuses assured the Vice President that they remained committed to completing outstanding works within the agreed timelines. Dr Jalloh reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to quality education and urged contractors and project management teams to work together to address implementation challenges.

He also pledged to revisit the campuses to assess further progress and support the completion and handover of the facilities.

Civil society activist Alphonso Manley welcomed the progress while calling for continued monitoring and sufficient funding to finish the remaining work.

“So far, so good. We appreciate the progress, though more work remains to be done,” Manley said.

The project’s longer-term benefits will depend on completing the facilities to the required standards, equipping them adequately and maintaining them, according to the project information.