News that the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and the Nigerian-owned FEMAB Real Estate Developers and Property Managers have both in separate press releases renewed their commitment to renew negotiations, with a view to revamp the construction of a new campus at Bureh Town, has been welcomed by students and staff as a positive move in the right direction.
A cross section of students and staff expressed the need for such a new state-of-the-art campus, only because of the limited space of IPAM at its current location at Tower Hill in Freetown, but the over congestion of the current student population continues to pose a serious concern, with the daily scramble by staff and students for classroom spaces.
A source close to IPAM indicated that it was unable to make the initial payment of 12.5m USD to FEMAB, but had instead made a part payment of 4.5m USD to FEMAB, which started the project in earnest. “We were hopeful that we would have secured a Sovereign Guarantee from the Government of Sierra Leone for the completion of the project, as outlined in the initial contract we entered into with FEMAB for the 50m USD contract.
The good thing is that IPAM is in ongoing discussions with FEMAB with a view of convincing the latter for a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model”, sources said.
FEMAB on the other hand, has agreed to re-engage with IPAM, and in a press release issued Thursday, September 5, 2024, signed by SinaAguda, the Corporate Communications Department, it renewed its commitment to work with IPAM in restarting the project. “We assure all Stakeholders-Government University and the public-that FEMAB remains fully committed to the IPAM Bureh Campus project”, part of the press release stated.
It could be recalled that work at Bureh town for the construction of a new Campus for IPAM came to a halt because of financial constraints the university faced in the absence of obtaining a Sovereign Guarantee, and its inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the initial contract.
Students, alumni and staff of IPAM have generally expressed optimism that the completion of the project at Bureh town would drastically reduce the overpopulation of the student population at Tower Hill in Freetown. “It will also add value to human development and President Bio’s agenda of free quality education, and it will be a win-win situation,” a government source familiar with the project stated.
Both IPAM and FEMAB, as recent as August, 2024, held high level meetings in Nigeria with optimism to move the project forward.