Through the World Bank-funded Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP), the mayors of Kenema and Makeni have officially handed over the relocation sites to contractors in both cities for the construction of temporary trading facilities to support the upgrade of the Kenema Central Market and the Makeni Central Market.

The handover ceremonies, held at the relocation sites in both cities, formally marked the start of construction of temporary market facilities that will accommodate 1,855 traders in Kenema and 1,300 in Makeni while the main market is being built. These ceremonies mark a major milestone in implementing the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project interventions.

The relocation site is a critical component of the market upgrade strategy, designed to ensure business continuity and provide organised, serviced trading spaces and WASH facilities for traders during the construction of the main market’s infrastructure in both cities.

Given the project’s background, Anthony A. Koroma, the project manager, noted that the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project is a Government of Sierra Leone initiative, led by the Ministry of Finance and funded by the World Bank. The Project Development Objective is to improve integrated urban management, service delivery, and emergency disaster management in the Western Area and the secondary cities of Sierra Leone. He further noted that this intervention forms part of the project’s market upgrade component and that only two cities, Makeni and Kenema, will benefit. Mr Koroma thanked the councils and other stakeholders for their cooperation throughout the process and for organising such an important event.

Speaking at the event, the mayors of the Kenema and Makeni City Councils welcomed the development, noting that the market upgrades will significantly contribute to local economic growth and urban transformation. They added that the initiative aims to improve long-term market conditions, including sanitation, safety, accessibility, and climate resilience. Both mayors reaffirmed their commitment to the project’s smooth implementation.

Sahr Emmanuel Yambasu, Chief Administrator of the Kenema City Council, and Daniel Bioma Kpukumu, Chief Administrator of the Makeni City Council, chaired the events in Kenema and Makeni, respectively. Statements were made by representatives of the World Bank Country Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Trade, the Project Fiduciary Management Unit, and the Traders Union Executive in each city.

The contractors presented overviews of the scope of work and construction timelines. They committed to delivering the facilities in line with the agreed design, quality standards, environmental and social safeguards, and occupational health and safety requirements.

Both sites were handed over by Thomas Baio, Mayor of the Kenema City Council, and Abu Bakarr Kamara, Mayor of the Makeni City Council, to the contractors in Kenema and Makeni, marking the start of a 24-month construction period, comprising 3 months for relocation and 21 months for the central markets.

The events were a great success, with stakeholders providing positive feedback on the coordination and on the display of collaboration, commitment, and ownership by the local councils, traders, and traders’ union executives throughout the process.

The upgrades to the Kenema and Makeni Central Markets are part of the Government’s broader urban resilience efforts under the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project, aimed at enhancing

urban infrastructure, service delivery, and emergency disaster management in the western area and secondary cities in Sierra Leone.