The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, “Korea Eximbank”) announced on January 17 that it will provide a USD 55 million EDCF* loan to fund the Freetown City Administrative Complex Project in Sierra Leone.

Korea Eximbank Chairman Kim Yong-hwan met with Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development Dr. Kaifala Marah at the bank’s headquarters and signed the Loan Agreement for the project.

* The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was established by the Korean government in 1987 to promote economic exchanges with developing countries and to assist developing countries in achieving industrialization and economic stability through the provision of long-term, low-interest credit. Korea Eximbank currently manages the fund as its trustee. As of the end of November 2013, EDCF has supported 299 projects in 50 countries with KRW 9.4 trillion (commitment basis).

The Freetown City Administrative Complex Project, the first project in Sierra Leone to be supported by EDCF, is aimed at building a modern administrative complex in the country’s capital city ravaged by 11 years of civil war.

Freetown is Sierra Leon’s political and economic center with a population of 2 million (36% of the country’s total population).

The former Freetown City Hall, which was built with North Korean support in 1972, was burned down during the long-lasting civil war, so that a scattered network of temporary offices are currently carrying out administrative functions.

The new administrative complex will be designed to evoke the image of a traditional Korean ship, and will house a municipal assembly hall and a civic center along with the Freetown city hall.

After the signing ceremony, Chairman Kim remarked, “We are delighted that a landmark building with a traditional Korean-style design is going to be built in the center of the capital of Sierra Leone. I hope the administrative complex will serve as the symbol of cooperation between our two countries, as well as increasing the visibility of Korean ODA.”

Minister Kaifala Marah also remarked, “Freetown City Administrative Complex will make life vastly more convenient for Freetown citizens through the provision of systematic and efficient public administrative services.”

Sierra Leone, a West African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean, is the world’s largest diamond producer and is also rich in other natural resources including rutile, iron ore, and bauxite.

Severe corruption and monopolization of wealth derived from mineral exports by an elite minority had sparked a civil war in the country in 1991 that only ended with the disarming of rebel forces in 2001. Since the election of President Ernest Bai Koroma in 2007, however, Sierra Leone has been posting decent growth with the help of business-friendly policies and international aid.