KUWAIT CITY — A Liberian government delegation led by Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has secured the commitment of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development to lead a consortium of Arab lenders in mobilizing financing for the 114-kilometer stretch of road from Salayea to Voinjama, part of the Gbarnga to Mendikorma Highway project.
The Arab lenders include the Saudi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), and the Abu Dhabi Fund.
This commitment followed a high-level meeting Sunday in Kuwait City between Minister Ngafuan and the Acting Director General of the Kuwaiti Fund, Waleed S. Al-Bahar, and his team.
The Liberian delegation also included Public Works Minister Roland Giddings; Deputy Minister for International Cooperation and Economic Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei; Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Dehpue Zuo; and National Port Authority Managing Director Sekou H. Dukuly.
Sunday’s commitment by the Kuwaiti Fund to lead resource mobilization for the Salayea-Voinjama section of the highway project came on the same day Liberia and the Fund signed an agreement to restructure Liberia’s $6.7 million outstanding debt to the Fund.
That agreement lifts a previous suspension on disbursements related to the highway project. The suspension was imposed in early 2023 following Liberia’s year-on-year delinquency in repaying a $14 million loan extended in 2016 to the National Port Authority.
As a result of Sunday’s agreement, the Kuwaiti Fund has agreed to resume disbursements to contractors working on the Gbarnga-Salayea stretch of the highway to facilitate the project’s expeditious completion.
During the Kuwait City discussions, it was agreed that priority will be given to mobilizing $76 million for the pavement of a 50-kilometer stretch of road between Konia and Voinjama, which is estimated to cost $65 million. An additional $11 million will be allocated to adding an extra layer of asphalt to an 81-kilometer section.
It was also agreed that a follow-up meeting between the Liberian government and Arab lenders, led by the Kuwaiti Fund, will be held next week on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.
A few months ago, the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai secured a funding commitment from the African Development Bank for the Voinjama to Mendikorma section of the highway.
While in Kuwait, the Liberian delegation is also expected to hold further talks with Kuwaiti port authorities and other government officials aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.
It can be recalled that in 2016 the Kuwaiti Fund led the same consortium of Arab lenders in mobilizing resources for the Gbarnga-Salayea section of the highway.
Meanwhile, the Liberian delegation expressed its sincere gratitude to the government and people of Kuwait for their continued partnership in advancing Liberia’s infrastructure development — especially in the area of road connectivity.
Additionally, the Liberian government used the occasion to seek Kuwait’s support for Liberia’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
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