(LINA) – In a bid to improve road connectivity in the country, the Ministry of Public Works has signed a contractual agreement with the China Henan International Corporation (CHICO), currently operating in Gbarnga, Bong County, to pave a 20km road corridor from Fish Town to Kelipo, Maryland County under a US$15.6 million Extension Plan approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The US$15.60 million allotment by AfDB is for the pavement of Fish Town – Kelipo Corridor Road and the Project is Phase II, Lot 1 of the Mano River Union Road Development and Transport Facilitation Program (MRU/RDTFP).
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Public Works in Monrovia, acting Public Works Minister, Ruth Coker-Collins, narrated that the program seeks to benefit road users, transporters, farmers as well as the population of about 790,000 inhabitants in both Fish Town and the Sanniquellie to Loguatuo (47.1km) road section, with emphasis on disadvantaged groups such as women and children who constitute the majority.
According to her, the Signing for the extension of pavement works leading to Grand Gedeh County is a giant step towards road connectivity in the rural part of the country.
Min. Collins pointed out that the ministry always hired Librarians as contractors, nothing that 90 percent of their contractors are Liberians.
She lauded the AfDB for its continued support to the road sector, and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving the standard of living in Liberia through the development of roads.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of AfDB Funded Road Projects in Liberia, Kesselly Rawlings, expressed the bank’s interest in the development of the country’s infrastructure sector, stating that the project has an economic potential to create about 800 formal and informal jobs, especially in agriculture; thereby improving road transport connectivity as a strategy to address and minimize fragility across Mano River Union countries.
The Fish Town – Kelipo Road Project is expected to last for 36 months, with a defect liability period of 12 months.
Pursuant to the Framework Document: “The Fish Town to Kelipo Road Section is a part of a regional program between Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire to develop and pave a total of 67.1km of road linking South-eastern Liberia and the western part of Cote D’Ivoire which includes (i) Development of 20 km road from Fish Town to Kelipo (River Gee County in Liberia) and (ii) Development of 47.1km from Sanniquellie to Loguatuo of Liberia, up to the Border Town of Gbeunta in Cote d’Ivoire (which is ongoing).”
