Foya, Lofa County—The construction of an 86-kilometer roadway asphalt pavement from Mendicorma in the Foya District to Voinjama City, the administrative center of Lofa County, has begun on account of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. Traditional chiefs, legislators, cabinet ministers, and ambassadors from Guinea and Sierra Leone attended the ceremony in Foya district, which officially marked the beginning of a 25-year public-private partnership between the Government of Liberia and Pavi Fort, the construction company that was given the contract.
The Liberian leader highlighted the road’s strategic importance during the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, May 23. He noted that “where this project is, it will serve not just the people of Lofa, as we have predominantly people with interwoven cultures, commercial interests, and ethnic identities.”
The president took advantage of the occasion to commend the Ministry of Public Works in particular for their outstanding demonstration of bravery and diligence. President Boakai noted that although the ministry first seemed to be plagued by hesitancy and mistakes, it was able to drastically change this strategy. In order to guarantee the timely and successful completion of this project, he urged Minister Lafayette Roland Giddings and his team at the Ministry to maintain this momentum.
Boakai commended Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio for working together to strengthen bilateral and regional ties. Speaking to Liberians, President Boakai urged them to set aside polarizing politics and concentrate on the country’s development agendas, which aim to promote the growth of infrastructure, the promotion of human capital, and the creation of opportunities for the next generation.
“It is Liberia that matters most to those fighting, as we need development to open up every part of this country to create opportunities for the younger and next generations to come,” president reminded Liberians.
The project’s Mano River Union component was highlighted by Public Works Minister Roland Lafayette Giddings, who called the road “infrastructure diplomacy in its most basic form.” He clarified that the terrible state of the county’s roads has prevented goods and people raised in Lofa County’s farms and towns from reaching marketplaces in Monrovia and other cities for far too long. He added that the route fills up a vacuum between Lofa County and Bong County, which leads to the capital.
According to Giddings, Lofa County has long been known as Liberia’s breadbasket. This wonderful nation’s rich agricultural and financial resources are produced by its fertile land. He added that the county’s potential has been limited for far too long by the gap between what is grown here and what reaches our markets. With this road, that is altered.
The road will be constructed in accordance with modern asphalt paving standards, with a highway width of 10.3 meters in rural areas and 1.5-meter shoulders on both sides, according to Prince D. Tamba, Deputy Minister of Public Works, who gave the project overview. To facilitate traffic flow and encourage urbanization, the route through town centers will be enlarged to 20.6 meters with 2.5-meter parking lanes. In addition, the project entails the installation of over 10,000 road drainage structures in town portions and the renovation of five significant bridges with spans ranging from 13 to 42 meters.
According to Tamba, the county seat, Voinjama City, will be renovated to a Class A urban road standard with roadside drainage infrastructure, a central median, and street lighting. Tamba informed the audience that the travel time between Voinjama and Mendikorma will be shortened from roughly two and a half hours to one hour and fifteen minutes after this project is finished. The initiative will greatly increase road safety, driving comfort, and vehicle dependability while lowering accidents and vehicle breakdowns in addition to increasing travel efficiency.
Starting with the groundbreaking, construction will move forward in stages, with full completion anticipated in 2029. The route starts at Voinjama City, travels through Foya and Kolahun, and ends at Mendikorma, where it joins Sierra Leone. According to Tamba, the addition of 86 kilometers of paved road would increase Lofa County’s percentage of paved road infrastructure from about 4% to about 8.8%. He described this as a major improvement for a county whose road network is 80% unpaved but ranks second in length in Liberia after Nimba County.
Mr. Alimony Sanu Barie, the CEO of Pavi Fort, said the company had previously finished a 26-mile road that the Liberian government had contracted for and described the new project as an important turning point for the company’s and the region’s development. He stated that the corporation values the government’s trust and stressed that the project entails both technical execution and environmental accountability.
According to project documentation referenced during the ceremony, a thorough resettlement action plan will be put into place where necessary to provide just compensation and the restoration of livelihoods for individuals displaced by building activities.
Speaking on behalf of his country, the Sierra Leonean ambassador to Liberia described the project as another important turning point in the two nations’ bilateral relationship and claimed it would make it easier for people and products to pass the Mano River border. He mentioned that Julius Maada Bio, the president of Sierra Leone, had already discussed how road infrastructure advances regional unity.
In his capacity as Doyen of the diplomatic corps, the Cameroonian envoy stated that the road is the type of investment that benefits all citizens, regardless of political allegiance. The Cameroonian ambassador stated that everyone has access to the road, which is the only benefit a leader can offer his people if we don’t check the party membership card before using it. Hospitals are also brought by the road. Above all, though, the road is a market.
Photo credit: Executive Mansion
