Capitol Hill, Monrovia – The Liberian Senate overwhelmingly approved the controversial Ivanhoe Atlantic deal late on Thursday night, ignoring the findings of its own Joint Transport and Infrastructure Committee in what many have described as a remarkable reversal.
The plenary was given the committee’s report by Senator Saah Joseph, the head of the joint committee. Surprisingly, however, nearly all of the committee members declined to sign the report, including Senator Nya Twayen, who had earlier vowed to vote against the agreement.
After the report was read, Senator Joseph requested that committee members be given time to review it and properly sign it. His petition was denied after Senator Abraham Darius Dillon led opposition to any effort to authenticate the report through signatures.
Senator Dillon later introduced a motion for the Senate to retrieve the matter from its investigative committee and concur with the House of Representatives, which had already passed the agreement without reservation, despite having taken part in earlier hearings with government officials and demanding to see Ivanhoe’s articles of incorporation before any vote was taken. The Senate decided to approve the motion.
Senator Joseph again urged his colleagues to include provisions for the paving of the Yekepa–Guinea road just before the final vote, cautioning that if Ivanhoe continues to transport iron ore by road, villages in Nimba County would be left immersed in dust and environmental devastation. This request was turned down as well.
Serious concerns have been raised over the original intent of the joint committee’s formation in light of the Senate’s decision to reject its own committee report. Critics contend that the action compromises the legitimacy of the Senate’s investigative procedures as well as parliamentary oversight.
Ivanhoe will now be allowed to transport iron ore by road from Guinea into Liberia with the Senate’s consent, replicating the contentious arrangement that Western Cluster was previously given.
A Joint Committee was established by the Liberian Senate to examine the proposed Concession and Access Agreement between the Government of Liberia and Ivanhoe Atlantic. The committee’s mandate was to evaluate the agreement’s implications for the law, economy, finances, environment, governance, and national interest in addition to its compliance with Liberia’s treaty obligations with Guinea.
The Committee examined relevant agreements and legislation, held a public hearing on December 12, 2025, and asked the Executive Branch for documents. However, it discovered significant documentation flaws and non-responsiveness. The majority of the presented documents were out-of-date, did not address fundamental compliance issues, and offered no proof of official communication with the Guinea government since August 2021. There was no documentation to back up claims of recent connections with Guinea.
Liberia’s glaring disregard for the Liberia–Guinea Implementation Agreement was a serious worry. Given that the agreement depends on the transshipment of Guinean iron ore through Liberia, the Committee found no evidence that the Inter-Ministerial Committee, Monitoring Committee, and Joint Technical Secretariat—three crucial joint institutions required by the treaty—were ever established or in operation. This raises significant risks to treaty compliance, diplomacy, and sovereignty.
The Committee acknowledged expected economic benefits, including jobs, potential for local content, and an estimated US$1.8 billion in payments over a 25-year period, but pointed out that these estimates were not backed by independent studies. The proposal to use an unpaved heavy-haul road, unclear rail development dates, low access fees for Liberia’s vital rail assets, and possible conflicts with ArcelorMittal Liberia’s existing rights were among the infrastructure plans that sparked concerns.
Among the other issues mentioned were risks to legislative sovereignty from provisions requiring the creation of a National Rail Authority through a concession agreement, uncertainty surrounding termination in the event that Guinea refuses consent, questions about the validity of the US$37 million that Ivanhoe has already paid, and the absence of performance guarantees.
Subject to significant changes, the Committee suggested conditional approval of the agreement. These include making it clear that previous payments are non-refundable signature bonuses, requiring the road to be completely paved before haulage, requiring rail construction within two years, raising access fees, protecting legislative authority, making sure Ivanhoe does not directly implement community projects, and automatically ending the agreement if Guinea’s approval is not obtained within five years.
The Committee concluded by acknowledging the potential advantages of the agreement but emphasizing that Liberia’s national interest, infrastructure protection, treaty responsibilities, and sovereignty must come first.
