The Bumbuna plant provides Freetown residents with 26-megawatt hours of power regularly. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) financed the initial project plan. Learn on the go with our new app. Facing the houses are the Barray an open sided round house offering a shady place to eat, sit and chat and the kitchen. The design and engineering process was particularly long and complex, due to the various difficulties encountered during the design, financing, tendering and execution of the works, including the aforesaid civil war. Upload any photo made with your phone which has location data embedded. 2 step up transformers ( 13.8/161 kV ), No. Stylishs shop right on the main highway and open 6 days a week, Sundays by appointment can provide enthusiastic guides and bicycle rentals. The fact that its clean, renewable energy may not matter to residents, but it was a deliberate strategy of the government. The African Development Bank (ADB) provided $103m for the project. Make sure to meet the chief beforehand and leave a small amount of money as a greeting. There is also a public pool at Wusum hotel. The brainchild of Sheka Forna, brother of celebrated author Aminatta Forna, Rogbonko Village Retreat is unlike any other accommodation available in Sierra Leone, offering not just the chance to wind-down in a truly magical forest setting, but also to live and immerse yourself in all aspects of rural village life. This is the first Studio Pietrangelis project Hydropower cascade [8] This will entail a second dam and plant. The Bumbuna Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Seli River near Bumbuna in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone,[1] and 350 kilometres (220mi) from the capital of Freetown, the main consumer. However, the people are some of the friendliest I have ever met, and they stand out for how strongly they respect and uphold their age-old traditions. Here are 7 of the best places to go outside of Freetown, and all of them are do-able in a weekend: The capital city of the North is a great place to escape the traffic and congestion of the capital whilst still having access to a good level of accommodation and food. [1], The site for the dam at Bumbuna Falls was first identified in 1971, and construction was begun in 1975. It is also expected to help in improving the overall quality of life in the region by providing power to more than one million people in Freetown, Bumbuna, Makeni and Lunsar. Two 31.6 m diameter morning glory type spillways have been constructed upstream of the dam, one on each abutment, which will discharge into the multipurpose tunnels. On Fridays, the best place to go is Garden State, a sprawling complex that has the feel of a giant houseparty, with pool tables and live music. Bumbuna dam is an 88m high asphalt concrete faced rockfill structure with a crest length of 440m and a volume of approximately 2.5 million m3 of granitic rockfill. These misalignments were largely resolved by the intervention of President Koroma and his appointment of Strasser-King, who sought to resolve the disputes between Salini and the Minister of Energy. Think what could happen if governments shared power to create positive outcomes for people? Future phases of the project have the potential to provide up to 400-megawatt hours of electricity, Davidson said, but the government is still looking for investors to help fund it. The second phase is expected to provide year-round supply of power to the region and also attract commercial and industrial investments. Highlights include forest villages, lakes, the iron ore mines and railway, and the Rokel River. The surface power station contains the machine hall which houses all the equipment including the draft tubes, penstocks and inlet valves. While the BHP will help to resolve the immediate supply shortages, a clear strategy is needed for the future expansion of power generation capability: the Bumbuna project can serve as a catalyst and model for the country to introduce it to sustainable development. In spite of having a design capacity of 50MW, the plant is producing only 35MW of power since its commissioning. Bumbuna Falls has been in the planning or building stage since the late 1970s. The left tunnel is used as the primary spillway while the right tunnel functions as the power tunnel and auxiliary spillway. Ask anyone here about the lights and they instantly mention the Bumbuna Falls Hydroelectric Project located 124 miles northeast of Freetown. Download PeakVisor maps today. [9][10] In June 2011, the government announced it had awarded the $750 million Phase II project to Joule Africa, a UK-based company. A second phase is planned, for a 110-megawatt (150,000hp) power station. Take care to observe the abundance of butterflies, fluttering past at every turn, with the peaceful air interrupted only by the swoosh of a panga, tweets of birds and the occasional crashing of monkeys in the trees. Staff can arrange for the charging of mobile phones, and the place is impeccably clean, sprayed regularly to deter mosquitos. For more serious hikers, the picturesque village of Bumban, just off the Kabala Highway, is home to a number of hikes, ranging from short hill walks to full day mountain treks, that are among the most stunning in West Africa. 296,173,914 stock photos, 360 panoramic images, vectors and videos, Share Alamy images with your team and customers. On Saturday, most people head to Plaza, which is essentially a huge car park with alcohol and music. It was launched to provide a consistent, inexpensive and clean source of energy for the region. Most developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are moving away from traditional use of fossil fuels to create electric power, says Ogunlade Davidson, Sierra Leones minister of energy and water resources. Shine On & Stay Hotel, on the highway before Koidu town, is by far the best place to stay and eat. He made energy a priority upon taking office in 2007. The quickest and easiest hike is to climb the hill overlooking the city (less than 1 hour to the top), as thousands of people do every new years day. From the first preliminary studies between 1970 and 1975, the plant was commissioned in 2009. If you have found the article useful, please do follow me on Medium, Twitter and Instagram (@jamestorvaney) where I post all my new content. The West African plant produces 35MW and was intended to provide consistent, inexpensive and clean energy for the region. government's trickiest challenges. The powerhouse consists of two Francis turbines rated at 25MW each. Makeni has one of the better nightlife scenes outside of Freetown. Get in touch for any commercial. As long as you arent looking for international cuisine from far flung locations, the food in Makeni on average is probably better, and healthier, than in Freetown. For $30 a night you get a comfortable room, swimming pool, and some of the best food in Sierra Leone. The Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project (BHP) is the first power plant in the history of Sierra Leone for this purpose and is of considerable importance as it produces more than 50% of the country's total electricity. Diesel fuel for the generators ranges from $3 to $4 a gallon. The thermal station supplies 27MW of electricity to Freetown, where demand is close to 34MW. Work on the Bumbuna hydroelectric plant (BHP) began in the 1970s. We've developed a guide to help organisations that contribute to public service apply Human Learning Systems to their work, enabling them to respond to the unique strength and needs of each person they serve. The power industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every month. Bringing reliable electricity to the capital city and the surrounding region of 2 million people has been a long-sought goal.
Commissioning of the Bumbuna power plant has not helped in meeting this rising demand. Rogbonko Village Retreat is incorporated into a few of our tours such as this three day Rogbonko getaway. The Centre for Public Impact, a BCG Foundation, is not affiliated If you are inside Koidu already, Yeannies offers good food and its balcony offers views across town. Pre-pay for multiple images and download on demand. Use in a presentation/talk (eg,Powerpoint and Keynote) or in an editorial newsletter. From the lodge, there are a number of awesome cycling and mountain and forest trails. There is a great article about them by Hidden Voices Magazine here: https://www.hvsl.org/post/earthbag-bungalow-saving-lives-through-tourism-at-lokomasama. Bafa resort ($40+) offers an all-inclusive glamping experience with high quality canvas tents and arguably the best food in the entire country. [7]This system reflected Strasser-King's hands on management style, which he said avoided relying on delegating tasks' and stressed the value of personal involvement to ensure things are working' . Camel Mountain, 20 minutes along the highway in Binkolo, is a particularly striking mountain that can be sumitted in about 2 hours. The spillways consist of reinforced concrete towers approximately 36 m high which continue as shafts until meeting the tunnels. Bumbuna power plant is located on the Seli river in the Tonkolili district of Sierra Leone. [3] A 26 January 2005 report noted that 33 villages would be affected by the dam, although only one (of 16 households and 135 people) would require resettlement. Also, there were misunderstandings on how to connect the Bumbuna dam and the King Tom power station in Freetown. During plant operation, the left tunnel is utilized as the primary spillway. Working with Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to create a global framework for building inclusive economies, What we do, how we work, who and where we are, Our worldwide team, as well as our Board, Fellows and Peoples Panel, Come reimagine government - explore our current vacancies. The Government of Sierra Leone owns the BHP and the Italian company Salini Costruttori operates it. The hills surrounding Bumbuna are spectacular and there are a number of challenging hikes starting in Bumbuna and the nearby village of Sunkoni. It was planned that the plant would produce 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity, principally for the capital, Freetown. The other 364 days of the year, you will have the hill to yourself. According to the United Nations Development Program, only 12 percent of people in the western urban region of Sierra Leone which includes Freetown use electricity for lighting. 
Interestingly, the Paramount Chief of Sewafeh has a bizarre custom made stereo system atop which sits a wooden figurine of the countrys president, Julius Maada Bio, that dances when music is being played. These include the old airfield, the FIFA built-football pitch, and the hill leading up to the waterworks, which offers views across the city and as far as the magnificent Tingi Hills. The BHP is located near the Seli river about 200 kilometres from the capital of Freetown. In reimagining government, we must commit to centering historically underrepresented communities voices in all of the work that we do. ADB became part of the project in 1989 and approved the initial loan in 1990. [5] Nearly a third of the dam's US$327 million cost ($103 million) was supplied by the African Development Bank. Njama is one of my favourite places in Sierra Leone. Learn more about how you can collaborate with us. Projects and research conducted with other government changemakers in our global network. Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. In general, the international donors, such the World Bank and the AfDB cooperated effectively with the Sierra Leonean government and were generous funders of the BHP. For privacy reasons, I do not publish individuals phone numbers. [4] There are two Francis turbines, each rated for 25 megawatts (34,000hp).[3]. [8], https://web.archive.org/web/20140221061321/http://www.bumbuna.sl/, "Sierra Leone's Hydro-Power Dam Lighting Up Freetown", "Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Station, Tonkolili District, West Africa, Sierra Leone", "Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Station, Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone", "Bumbuna Hydropower Project: Resettlement Action Plan for the Reservoir and Dam Area", "Why Sierra Leone's energy crisis just about got worse", "Sierra Leone's private sector rushes to fill the void as dam disappoints", "Hydroelectric Plants in Africa - Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone", "Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Project Completion Report", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bumbuna_Dam&oldid=1061921363, Hydroelectric power stations in Sierra Leone, Articles with dead external links from April 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 December 2021, at 22:28. City Bar, near the clock tower, provides high quality fast food offerings, and the nearby Yum Yum Centre provides the best meat and fried egg sandwiches in the country. Avoid the bushfire season (late January-early April). Alamy and its logo are trademarks of Alamy Ltd. and are registered in certain countries. At the end of the dry season, a number of nearby beaches emerge from the rivers, in particular, 1 Beach, on the Lunsar highway. A geologist by training, he had studied management in France, knew the project well as he had worked on the design while he was a professor at Fourah Bay College in Freetown. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. There is a surprising variety of things to do in this small highway town Less than 2 hours from central Freetown, the highway town of Lunsar is home to probably the best cycling shop in the country. Accommodation Particular highlights for me include catfish hunting, a tour of the medicinal plants of the forest by an experienced herbalist, and Mende storytelling by the village elders. A 200km 161kV transmission line transmits electricity from the plant. 2 Francis turbines, IP = 50 MW ), No.
The project will require an investment of $750m. Probably the best way to learn about the mines is to connect with a local journalist who can show you some of the key sites in an unbiased and un-exploitative way. Local knowledge: Bumbuna Dam was originally posited as a source of energy in 1971 in Siaka Stevens time as President. The prestigious project of Batoka Gorge, with Bituminous Faced Rockfill dam ( BFRd, H = 88 m, V = 2.8 Mm ), No. info
Enter the e-mail address associated with the account. It then decided to invest in the project on the basis of its Dam Planning and Management Action Plan (DAMAP). I consent to GlobalData UK Limited collecting my details provided via this form in accordance with the, Introducing the Excellence Awards & Rankings 2022, Industrial solutions for power generation, Mendubim Solar PV Power Project, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, Taiwan Power Company (TPC) Offshore Wind Farm Phase II, Taiwan, TEPCO to shut down reactors at Fukushina nuclear plant by 2012, GE forms energy joint venture with Russian companies, Hyundai to construct $1.27bn coal-fired plant in Vietnam, Scatec reaches financial close for renewable projects in South Africa, French government plans to acquire full ownership of EDF, Filings buzz in the power industry: 22% decrease in cloud computing mentions in Q1 of 2022. It is also home to one the highest concentrations of birds (259 species, including five of conservation concern), butterflies (444 species) and plant biodiversity in Sierra Leone in the top 5% of the whole Upper Guinea ecosystem. Embark then on a circular walking tour (2 hours, c. 5km) of local farms, villages, grasslands and boli (flood plains), learning about the cultivation and processing of local crops, such as rice, cassava, cashew nuts and palm oil. Weather patterns here have shifted, and most farmers lack the technology and skills to make the planting and harvesting adjustments that are needed. I want to be connected but it costs 400,000 Leones [$100], he said. Public Impact, an independent education research and consulting firm dedicated Switched on nearly two months ago, Bumbuna's electricity has made obsolete the noisy, diesel-reliant generators running in nearly every backyard, office and restaurant kitchen. Our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. The two 9 m diameter, concrete and steel lined, multipurpose tunnels were constructed through both the left and right dam abutments, each with a length of approximately 620 m. Both tunnels are being used for diverting the Seli River around the dam site during construction. Insufficient water supply to the Bumbuna dam and technical problems have contributed to low production. Solar panels and batteries are too expensive.. Find the right content for your market. Pietrangeli.com uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Davidson said the government plans to lower the fees once more people are connected. tools we've developed for people in public services and events where The second phase of the project will include the construction of a second reservoir to ensure water supply to the turbines during the dry season. The second phase of Bumbuna development is expected to resolve these issues. TURNING ON THE LIGHTS IN FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE: COMPLETING THE BUMBUNA HYDROELECTRIC PLANT, 2008 - 2009, Jonathan Friedman, 2011, Innovations for Successful Societies, Princeton University, Rehabilitation and completion works at Bumbuna Falls HEP: a case history of interrupted and continued implementation activities, Petri and Bezzi, Pietrangeli, Sierra Leone: Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project (BHP), 2006, CARBON FINANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Station, Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone, renewable energy.com, Strategies Application in Project Evaluation - The Case of Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project (BHP), Sierra Leone, Bakar Mansaray, Anshuman Khare, 2007, Problems and Perspectives in Management / Volume 5, Issue 1, 2007, Report No: 3 1844-SL PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT, 20 May 2005, The World Bank. In 2008, Freetown faced a serious energy crisis as two generators met less than five percent of the Sierra Leone capital's needs. Learn how you can build a trusting relationship between local governments and underserved communities that have been harmed by government actions. This is one of our pet projects that we have faithfully followed for the past forty years notwithstandings several challenges, including in particular the interruption of activities (1996-2002) due to the civil war in Sierra Leone. About thirty minutes off the Freetown highway, on the Rokel River, is a picturesque waterfall that can be reached on foot or by car. The transformers that Bumbuna supplies used to run on diesel fuel and were unreliable because of the countrys inability to retain enough fuel to keep the grid running and the lack of money to repair power lines built in the 1960s. It was the first major hydropower development in the country. But its expensive to get connected, says Alusine Lamine, who lives on the east side of Freetown, where power is not as consistent. Thats what he and colleagues from other least-developed African countries stressed at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. Captions are provided by our contributors. FREETOWN, Sierra Leone The construction company that Barton Cole works for no longer has to spend $5 a day to power generators to run its computers, timber and welding equipment. Insufficient water supply to the Bumbuna dam and technical problems contributed to low production. Make sure you pay your respect to the chief before going. Their hospitality is first class and they can arrange various activities such as spearfishing and kayaking. Africa has only contributed to 3 percent of the problem.. Plenty of hiking and outdoor activities. Wusum and Mena Hills are short (30 minute) climbs that offer panoramic views over the city. The Italian cooperation and development bureau was responsible for the construction of the plant. The ratings range from 1 to 4 where 1 is a poor response and 4 is a superior response. [4]The World Bank project appraisal report considered it an indication of broad public support for the project is that [BHP] is featured on the SLL 5000 bill. [5], An alternative view was that of Sierra Leoneans when the BHP was officially commissioned. The ataya base by the main entrance to the park serves the second best fried egg sandwich in the country. If you find it useful please consider supporting the PeakVisor app. Not all the actors involved in the project cooperated effectively. Walk across the 50 metre high curved wall, tour the powerhouses and control stations and learn just how this controlled mass of water powers cities the size of Freetown and Makeni. 2 headrace tunnels ( L = 620 m, D = 9 m ), Shaft power house ( No. Working with Refugees: Laurette in Samos, Greece, How I Found Out That I Wanted to Be A TeacherAn Interview with June Zwan, 6 Insanely Awesome Adventures to have in Sierra Leone, 5 Weekend Getaways That Feel Like Vacations Within 3 Hours of Seattle, What I learned from a year of content creation in F1, Hiking, Waterfalls, & Relaxation (Makeni), Cycling, Afrilosophy & Waterfall (Lunsar), Earthbag Bungalow (Petifu, Port Loko District), https://www.hvsl.org/post/earthbag-bungalow-saving-lives-through-tourism-at-lokomasama. We need to improve the electricity supply twice as much as the citys growth, he said. The intake for the right tunnel is a 93m concrete tower with a diameter of 7.5m. Copyright 20/07/2022 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. Even after the electricity started flowing toFreetown, public scepticism remained, and some even doubted that the power was actually coming from Bumbuna A lot of it was justdisbelief. [6]. Moreover, there were disputes regarding the management and operations of the BHP. Daltons Guesthouse ($20+) offers a more budget focused offering and includes watersports and humpack whale watching trips around October. 
