Published: May 22, 2026
MONROVIA — The Liberian Senate has launched an investigation into mounting delays on the approximately $116 million Roberts International Airport Highway Expansion and Pavement Project, voting Thursday to summon the principal contractor, East International Group, along with key government ministries to account for a project that was supposed to be finished in 2024 and may now drag into 2027.
The action followed a formal communication from Lofa County Sen. Momo T. Cyrus, read during plenary session by Senate Secretary Nanborlor Singbeh, urging lawmakers to demand a comprehensive update on the status of one of Liberia’s largest strategic infrastructure undertakings.
Cyrus, who chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense, Security, Intelligence and Veteran Affairs, told colleagues that the RIA highway is not an ordinary road. It is the first physical impression that investors, diplomats, tourists and development partners encounter when they enter Liberia, and its unfinished condition carries consequences that extend well beyond the construction corridor.
“The project was designed to expand and pave nearly forty-five kilometers of roadway from ELWA Junction to Roberts International Airport into a modern four-lane highway intended to improve transportation efficiency, enhance public safety, stimulate economic activity, and strengthen Liberia’s national image,” Cyrus stated.
The project was launched in February 2020 under former President George Manneh Weah, with major construction activities beginning in September 2021. It was projected for completion within three years, putting the original target at roughly 2024. That deadline has passed. Cyrus told the Senate that public reports, institutional observations and citizen complaints now suggest the revised completion timeline could stretch to 2027.
He cited a growing catalogue of problems along the unfinished corridor: traffic congestion, drainage failures, dust pollution affecting nearby communities, limited nighttime visibility, incomplete pavement sections and rising accident risks tied to active construction zones. Those conditions, he argued, make the case for an immediate public hearing both urgent and necessary.
“It would promote transparency and strengthen public confidence in the management and execution of a major publicly funded infrastructure project of national significance,” Cyrus said of the proposed hearing. He added that it would give Liberians authoritative information on completed milestones, remaining work phases, revised timelines and the factors responsible for delays, while also creating a platform to address the public safety risks now confronting motorists, pedestrians and residents along the route.
Cyrus was careful to frame his request as an exercise of legislative oversight rather than an attempt to disrupt construction. He also recommended that the Ministry of Public Works be included in the hearing to provide technical and policy perspectives on implementation progress, regulatory oversight and completion expectations.
“The Liberian Senate, as a central institution of representative governance, bears an enduring obligation to ensure that national development initiatives proceed in a manner that inspires public confidence, safeguards public interest, and reflects prudent stewardship of national resources,” he said.
Following the reading of the communication, Senate Plenary voted to refer the matter to the Committees on Public Works and Ways, Means and Finance for investigation. The committees were instructed to invite the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and East International Group to appear before them and report back to plenary within two weeks. The motion was introduced by Sen. Samuel G. Kogar.
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