The Sierra Leone Government through its Ministry of Tourism has announced the closure of famous tourist site, Leicester Peak.

The closure of the Leicester Peak is due to the construction of the road leading to the venue.

“The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs wishes to inform the general public that construction of the road leading to Leicester Peak view point and other leisure facilities at the site by the Ministry under the Sierra Leone Economic Project is in progress,” the Ministry said.

They said the peak is therefore closed to the public until further notice.

The Ministry also announced that all recreational activities around the area “should stop with immediate effect.”

The project to restructure the tourist site was handed over to K5 Construction Company on Friday, September 22.

Leicester Peak is located on top of a hill in the urbanized context of Freetown. The peak is 564m above sea level and is part of the Western Area Peninsula National Park. This is the site for the telecommunication antennas of the city, but it is also an informal viewpoint area which is used by locals as a meeting point.

The World Bank is assisting the Government of Sierra Leone to improve the tourism business environment, enhance market access and improve tourism products and services through the Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP) that aims to increase investment and entrepreneurship in non-mining productive sectors, including tourism.

For Leicester Peak, the project covers the construction of 1592m2 space as viewing deck, canopies, a food shop and toilet block with 0.165km of concrete rigid pavement road rehabilitation and 36 parking bays including ancillary works of drainage, retaining wall, landscaping and vendor area.