The Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Public Works, on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 signed a Contractual Agreement with CHICO valued at approximately US$15.6 million for the paving of the Fish Town-Kelipo corridor road. The project, according to the Ministry of Public Works, is phase II, Lot 1 of the Mano River Union Road Development and Transport Facilitation Program (MRU/RDTFP).
According 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 67.1 km of road linking the south-eastern Liberia and 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 47.1 km from Sanniquellie to Loguatuo of Liberia, up to the border town of Gbeunta in Cote D’Ivoire (which is ongoing).”
Acting Public Works Minister, Ruth Coker-Collins, intimated that the program will benefit road users, transporters, farmers, the program area 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 of the extension of pavement work leading to Grand Gedeh County is a giant step toward road connectivity in the southeastern part of the country.
She lauded the African Development Bank (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.
For his part, the Coordinator of the African Development Bank-funded road projects in Liberia, Kesselly Rawlings, recounted the bank’s interest in the development of the country’s infrastructure sector, and said 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 thirty six months, with a defect liability period of twelve months.