Monrovia, Liberia – The Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development has agreed to lead a consortium of Arab lenders in mobilizing funds for the 114-kilometer stretch between Salayea and Voinjama, which is part of the pavement of the Gbarnga to Mendikorma Road Project. This commitment was obtained by the Liberian Government delegation, led by Finance & Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan.
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Abu Dhabi Fund, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) are examples of Arab lenders. This commitment was made during an informative discussion with Waleed S. Al-Bahar, the Kuwaiti Fund’s acting executive director general, and his staff today in Kuwait City.
The delegation from the Liberian government includes Hon. Roland Giddings, the Minister of Public Works; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei, the Deputy Minister for International Cooperation and Economic Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Hon. Dehpue Zuo, the Deputy Minister for Economic Management in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Hon. Sekou H. Dukuly, the Managing Director of the National Port Authority.
Following the signature of an agreement today between the Liberian Government and the Kuwaiti Fund to restructure the $6.7 million outstanding debt obligation to the Fund, the Kuwaiti Fund committed on Sunday, April 13, 2025, to spearhead resource mobilization for the Salayea – Voinjama portion of the Highway project.
This agreement lifts a previous suspension on disbursements related to the highway project. Early in 2023, the payout suspension was put in place as a result of the Liberian government’s failure to return a $14 million loan given to the National Port Authority (NPA) in 2016.
In order to speed up the road project’s completion, the Kuwaiti Fund has now consented to release previously delayed payments to contractors working on the Gbarnga – Salayea Highway.
The mobilization of $76 million for the pavement of a 50-kilometer road between Konia and Voinjama, which is expected to cost $65 million, and the addition of an additional layer of asphalt to an 81-kilometer section, which will cost about $11 million, will be prioritized, according to the agreement reached during today’s discussion in Kuwait City.
Additionally, it was decided that next week, during the IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington, the Liberian government and Arab lenders, led by the Kuwaiti Fund, would meet. The Government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai few months earlier secured funding commitment from the African Development for the Voinjama – Mendikorma stretch of the highway.
It is anticipated that the representatives of the Liberian government in Kuwait would continue their discussions with Kuwaiti port authorities and other Kuwaiti government officials in order to further the two countries’ relationship. It can be recalled that the Kuwaiti Fund led in 2016 the same consortium of Arab Lenders and mobilized resources for the Gbarnga – Salayea Highway.
The Liberian delegation, conveyed its profound appreciation to the Kuwaiti government and people for their ongoing collaboration in promoting the development of Liberia’s infrastructure, particularly in the area of road connections. The Liberian government also used the occasion to ask Kuwait to back Liberia’s application for a membership on the UN Security Council that is not permanent.
