Travel between Ganta and the mining town of Yekepa will be made entirely convenient in the coming months as the ArcelorMittal-funded road work reaches Sanniquillie.
A few days ago, full pavement reached Sanniquellie, the administrative headquarters of Nimba, to the delight of hundreds of residents who will for the first time see asphalt pavement in that area since it was created a county.
In 2013, ArcelorMittal committed US$45 million to underwrite the cost of the road construction as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The US$45 million paid to the Government of Liberia (GOL) does not amount to any deduction from ArcelorMittal Liberia’s social responsibilities, taxes and royalties she pays to the three affected counties or the government in general.
The commitment to pave Ganta-Yekepa is a show of support and obligation to the government’s desire to deliver critical infrastructure to the people, especially in the area of road connectivity, which AML deems a catalyst to growth and economic development
While the project was substantially delayed due to the deadly Ebola Virus Disease and the global COVID outbreak, AML remained steadfast in providing the funding for the continuation of the road work.
The point of interest has been the fact that the historic city of Sanniquellie is given a new facelift, the first time a paved road passes through the important town.
With this effort, the Ministry of Public Works announced it is designing a new outlook of the major street of Sanniquellie to reflect the nature of the pavement done so far.
In generations to come, the Ganta-Yekepa Road will continue to serve as a symbol of true partnership between the government and people of Liberia and ArcelorMittal as a responsible business.
This pavement of the Ganta-Yekepa road delivers tremendous benefits that include lowering maintenance costs, longer tire life for smaller vehicles, less strain on suspension, and less overall vehicle repairs—all due to smoother roads.
It will also promote fast and easy movement of farm-to-market produce and particularly enable produce in Nimba to be delivered to Monrovia and other parts of the country.
Travel time between Yekepa and Ganta will be reduced, causing market women to safe on the cost of transporting their goods, thereby reducing the cost of farm-to-market produce.
While negotiations are on-going to complete the entire stretch of road, there has been tons of congratulatory messages form stakeholders in Nimba, expressing how thankful they are for the gesture from ArcelorMittal.
AML has said that, with its phase two expansion, more of such investments will happen to demonstrate further how the company desires to stay and do responsible business in Liberia.