Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone
Spanning over 600 square kilometres, Sherbro Island is a tropical paradise bordered by the vast Atlantic Ocean in Sierra Leone.
The project for Sherbro Island aims to regenerate this beautiful island and turn it into an eco-friendly smart city that will provide a safe, diverse, sustainable and innovative centre for business and tourism. A home for the Islanders, Sierra Leoneans, the diasporan community, people of African descent, and expats from across the world. Sherbro Island will be an “Afro-dynamic eco-city” based on African cultural values that emphasise community, collaboration and respect for nature.
It will also be able to adapt to changing social, economic and environmental conditions and will be built in a sustainable, energy efficient and climate resilient manner.
The island is home to a relatively small population of 40,000 people with the majority residing in Bonthe Town, the Island’s chief port and commercial centre. There is limited development and infrastructure beyond Bonthe Township, which includes a small air strip. The mobility of the people who live there is limited not only in terms of access to the mainland, but also by their ability to move around the island itself.
The project is sponsored by Sherbro Alliance Partners, founded and led by British Sierra Leoneans Idris Elba and Siaka Stevens, the grandson of a former Sierra Leonean president, involving a world class technical team. Idris Elba has a strong connection to Sierra Leone, the West African nation where his father was born.
As Hollywood actor Idris Elba told the BBC in a recent interview, he has a “big dream” for Sherbro Island. The project will attempt to preserve the beauty of the place: “It’s a beautiful, green part of the world and we don’t want to disturb that”.
A strong, diverse, multi-discipline team is supporting Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP) to realise this vision, including:
Delwik Group;
Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy investors. They will bring renewable, wind-generated electricity to Sierra Leone for the first time;
Sasaki Associates, Foster & Partners and Saota will oversee the overall master plan and landscape architecture;
MIC-HUB will manage efficient transport to and from the island, as well as sustainable mobility on Sherbro;
Coastal engineer PRDW will consider the impact of climate and how sea level changes may affect the island.
The project will also involve: Frost and Sullivan Africa Team, DLA Piper, Watson Farley & Williams, Edelman, Buro Happold, Lloyds, and Pegasys.