FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE – 30 April 2026 – The Government of Sierra Leone has secured a $15 million grant facility from the World Bank for a second fibre cable landing, with additional partnerships anticipated to help facilitate the project, Minister of Communications, Technology and Innovation Madam Salima M. Bah has announced.
Speaking at the 2026 Stakeholders’ Engagement on Inclusive Digital Transformation, hosted by Parliament’s Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation at the Atlantic Beach Hotel in Freetown on Wednesday, 29th April 2026, the Minister provided a detailed update on the country’s fibre expansion progress.
“We’re currently engaged in landing a second cable for fibre,” Minister Bah stated. “With a regional project alignment, the government has secured a $15 million grant facility from the World Bank, along with more private sector investments – something around hoping to work with private sector to facilitate this.”
She described the arrangement as “a good example of government and private sector partners working together to achieve an objective.”
Expansion to Liberia Underway
The Minister confirmed that significant work is being done to expand the fibre backbone to the country’s remaining two districts – Falaba and Karene. Additionally, she announced expansion to neighbouring Liberia.
“Because we have already expanded to Guinea, and we are interconnected with Guinea, and there is facility redundancy sharing between us and Guinea,” Minister Bah explained.
Fibre Backbone Now at 14 Districts
Earlier in her address, the Minister highlighted significant sector growth, noting that the fibre backbone has been expanded to 14 of the country’s 16 districts, with metro services also increasing significantly.
Persistent Challenges Acknowledged
Despite the gains, the Minister cited ongoing challenges including gaps between network coverage and utilization, service affordability issues, availability gaps, and high global prices affecting the market.
With approximately 3.4 million subscribers currently, Minister Bah stated that government must implement more strategic reforms to sustain progress, expressing optimism that the subscriber base could grow to 6 million by 2028.
Calls for Infrastructure Protection
The Minister also called for penalties for vandalism of fibre cables and urged the National Telecommunications Authority (NaTCA) to promote shared infrastructure to support colocation of facilities among Mobile Network Operators.