The Role of Communication in Large Infrastructure: The Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (World Bank Working Papers)

This case study analyzes the role of communication as it applies to large water infrastructure projects through the example of the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project in Sierra Leone. It describes how communication was used as an analytical tool to assess the political and social environment around the project and how the Communication Action Plan put in place an horizontal communication mechanism allowing key stakeholders to -be properly informed, express their concerns and be involved in the decision making process. The authors present the lessons learned in Sierra Leone and propose that stakeholder involvement and horizontal communication should be included, from the project inception, as a key ingredient for project design and implementation for all large infrastructure and hydropower projects.