Monrovia, Liberia – A contentious railway deal has been quietly signed by the UP government under President Boakai with a U.S.-registered company connected to Chinese state interests. This move could put Liberia at the center of a high-stakes geopolitical tug-of-war as President Joseph Nyuma Boakai meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.
Ivanhoe Atlantic, a Delaware-based business with ownership ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises, signed the deal behind closed doors on Sunday, July 6, 2025. It calls for the rehabilitation and expansion of Liberia’s vital railway corridor from Tokadeh, Nimba County, to the Port of Buchanan. In order to make it easier to move iron ore from Guinean mines through Liberian ports. The deal also calls for the building of additional rail connections into neighboring Guinea.
The signature was confirmed by sources inside the Executive Mansion, who pointed out that the timing was not coincidental. There are concerns in Washington about whether the agreement with Ivanhoe Atlantic would ultimately serve Beijing’s mineral goals in West Africa, perhaps compromising Trump’s policy, as the Boakai administration gets ready to establish Liberia as a reliable friend of the United States.
There is no official public communication, no legislative discussion, and no news announcement from the Executive Mansion concerning the deal. According to DN News’ Facebook post, they received an invitation to the signing, which was initially set for Saturday, July 5. The event was rescheduled until Sunday, July 6. A last-minute change resulted in the media outlet being refused entrance to the NIC on the rescheduled day and being told that media coverage had been canceled.
Robert Friedland, a Canadian-American mining tycoon, formed the business that was once known as High Power Exploration (HPX), and Ivanhoe Atlantic is its new face. In addition, Friedland founded Ivanhoe Mines, Ltd., a Toronto-listed business that has Chinese state-affiliated companies as a partial owner.
Expanding the current rail corridor from Tokadeh to Buchanan, restoring the abandoned rail line north to Yekepa, building a 2-3 km rail spur to the Guinean border, and increasing port capacity in or near Buchanan are the four main parts of the proposed Ivanhoe project.
Being one of the few in West Africa with direct port access to the Atlantic, Liberia’s railway is a vital national asset. The infrastructure is now owned by the Liberian government, and it is operated and shared under multi-user agreements by ArcelorMittal, a longtime investor. ArcelorMittal has spent more than US$500 million in Liberia since 2005. For its Liberian activities, it invested over $100 million on U.S.-made equipment in 2024 alone.
With 3,000–3,500 direct employees, more than 90% of whom are Liberian citizens, ArcelorMittal Liberia is also one of the country’s biggest employers in the private sector. Additionally, the corporation indirectly supports hundreds of additional employment through local suppliers and contractors. As the firm works to increase its iron ore output, the ongoing Phase II expansion project is anticipated to generate over 2,000 new employment, mostly in technical, construction, and logistics-related industries.
Apart from providing direct employment, ArcelorMittal also runs a vocational training academy in Yekepa, Nimba County, where young Liberians can learn plant operations, mechanical and electrical engineering, and other industrial skills. Many graduates go on to find long-term jobs in the company or related fields.
