The mega project, which was due to be completed in 2022, was commissioned by former president Ernest Bai Koroma in March of this year.
The cancellation came as Pakistan and Malaysia became more and more enthusiastic about Chinese loans to finance large-scale infrastructure projects in recent months. But Sierra Leone's decision is the first time an African government cancels an important agreement already announced and backed by China.
"After much thought and diligence, the government believes that it is not profitable to proceed with the construction of the new airport while it is significantly underutilized," said the Minister of Transport and Tourism. the United Kingdom Aviation in a letter. project director, published in local media.
Addressing the BBC on Wednesday, Sierra Leonean Aviation Minister Kabineh Kallon said the current airport would be renovated.
"I have the right to make the best decision for the country," he said. It is not clear if there are any financial penalties associated with the cancellation of the transaction.
The politics at stake
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in Africa and, according to the International Monetary Fund, has a moderate risk of over-indebtedness.
Under former President Koroma, who was in office from September 2007 to April this year, the country contracted $ 224 million in Chinese debt, including $ 161 million in 2016, according to the research initiative China-Africa SAIS Johns Hopkins. .
President Julius Maada Bio came to power several months ago in the aftermath of a hotly contested election. He has since reassessed some of the financial commitments made by his predecessor.
The agreement on Mamamah International Airport has been controversial for years, partly because of "lack of transparency" about its terms, according to Lina Benabdallah, assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University in Carolina. North.
The seventh group of Chinese railways, supported by the state, – an experienced builder of bridges and highways across Africa – had been engaged for the construction of the airport, with the financing of China Exim Bank.
"These renegotiations are an important sign of the African agency's determination to rethink the terms of the agreements signed between Chinese and African leaders," said Benabdallah.
Sierra Leone will now modernize its current airport in Lungi City, which has been criticized for its poor connectivity with the capital. Lungi is separated from Freetown by an estuary, which means that a ferry ride is required to reach the city.
The government would consider building a bridge to connect the airport to Freetown.
Enter the red
Together, African countries owe China about $ 130 billion, according to the China-Africa Research Initiative, which has been used mainly to finance transport, energy and mining projects.
At the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) this year, at a triennial meeting between Beijing and African heads of state, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the grant an additional $ 60 billion in loans and aid to the continent.
In August, 16 US senators warned their government, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that "predatory financing of Chinese infrastructure" created unsustainable debt levels in the developing world, what the IMF needed to bail out.
Much of the debt is due to extravagant spending on Xi's ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure program, which aims to create huge trade corridors linking China, Europe and Asia. , Africa and the rest of Asia.
China has been accused of pursuing a policy of debt trap diplomacy, which could lead Beijing to put pressure on countries that can not repay their loans in operating agreements. In 2010, Beijing invested $ 1.5 billion in a Sri Lankan port. When the country was unable to repay its debt, the facility was assigned to a company owned by the Chinese state on a 99-year lease.
But some African leaders have been grateful for the investments provided by the Chinese government.
"China has become a major investor on our continent, and as we seek to expand Chinese investment in Africa, we need to encourage more local partnerships between Chinese and African entrepreneurs," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the meeting. Opening of FOCAC in September.
