MONROVIA: Mr. Roland Layfette Giddings, Minister of Public Works has disclosed that the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has reaffirmed its commitment to build interchanges (overhead bridges) in Liberia.
According to Minister Giddings, construction works on the bridges in Liberia which costs have been put at US$30m would begin in February 2025.
Minister Giddings disclosed the commitment was made after President Joseph Boakai and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held several engagements with the Chinese Government at the just ended Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Beijing, China.
The Liberian Public works Minister made the pronouncements via the Super Morning Show on State Radio, ELBC, in Paynesville on Monday, September 16, 2024.
Minister Giddings spoke on the show along with other government officials including Mr. Jerolinmek Matthew Piah, Minister of Information; Mr. Jeff Blibo, Chairman, National Investment Commission (NIC); and Madam Kula Fofana, Presidential Press Secretary.
Discussing the topic: “Disseminating the Indonesian and China Dividends” on the radio, Minister Giddings indicated that prior to the taking over of the past government, the Liberian Government held several other engagements with European Union to see how Liberia can decongest traffics in Greater Monrovia.
He said those engagements brought in a study that looks at creative interchanges at some of the motor road interceptions in the country.
According to him, some of the two major interceptions they looked at before the Ministerial Complex and the Samuel Kanyon Doe Boulevard construction.
Minister Giddings stated that the two interceptions were designed and the Liberian Government finally got the Chinese Government to embrace the idea and ensure the necessary financial and technical support for implementation of the bridges project in 2015 and 2016.
“Before the past government left, the Chinese Government committed to supporting the project and they had a team that came to do assessment. They also committed to building these interchanges. Interchanges are bridges that decongest the traffic and allow it to flow,” he added.
The Minister of Public Works highlighted that the two interchanges will be the first in the country and ever in the history of Liberia that will be built.
He maintained that the Chinese Government is committed to building the interchanges that should have been built over the last six years, but they do not know what the past government did for which they could not get the project to be done.
He mentioned that the funding, design and everything about the project were secured in 2017 and it was not done but the current government of President Boakai had to reenergize the project.
“Because Liberia’s relationship with China was not really good between the past government and the Chinese Government, they had to put a halt to most of the projects and the two road interchanges were part of the US$30 million dollars that will be done,” he stated.
The Minister emphasized that the current government went back and reaffirmed with the Chinese Government and the Chinese Ambassador to Liberia was much firmed about the PRC’s commitment to implement the two bridges project.
He asserted that President Joseph Boakai held lots of meetings to get the PRC to accept that Liberia is ready to do business again with China.
He said some of those meetings were done behind the curtains along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidency, and at the end, China finally agreed and they put the interchanges project back to the table.
He continued: “They reaffirmed that because when FOCAC is done, most times, they have funding about US$50 billion plus that is available for countries across Africa that you can tap into to invest in infrastructure and do other investments. If you do not do that over a period, you lost the funding; I am just saying on that one, we secured that for now and the project should hopefully be starting in February 2025”.
“The two interchanges will be built on the Tubman Boulevard before the Ministerial Complex and the SKD Boulevard in Paynesville.
There is a road from the Congo Town Back-Road which is going to be a part of how the interchanges will be designed from up the Unity Party old Headquarters, coming further down; there will be an interchange that will connect from the Congo Town back road also within the SKD Boulevard interception that is going to come from the Congo Town Back-Road and connects to the SKD Boulevard and go to the 72 Boulevard and ELWA Junction and then come further down,” he added.
He stressed that the intent is to bring relief to the traffic and the interchanges are not in Liberia road network, so it might look strange to the citizens when it is being constructed.
Minister Giddings also made it cleared that Liberia did not get anything specific about infrastructure from Indonesia.
He said everyone knows where Liberia is in terms of infrastructure, and not just road network, energy and others.
He also highlighted that there is a need for investment in Liberia’s infrastructure which is something that cannot be underestimated.
Mr. Giddings recalled that the MCC studies always show that Liberia has devastating structure in both energy and roads, and that is why the body was to create for economic growth and right now, and it is about infrastructure and Liberia needs to do more.
He also disclosed that in terms of roads network, Liberia has a deficit of almost 11,000 kilometers of roads that are not paved, indicating that most of these forums and engagements become the top piece as to what Liberia needs for investing in its economy.
Meanwhile, he said Liberia has economic infrastructure which spreads growth and that is investment in road, energy, telecommunications, seaport, airports etc.
These are the infrastructure that will bring the kind of growth that the country is looking for in terms of improving the economy to invest in social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and others.
He maintained that schools, hospitals, care facilities, prisons, mental homes take away from the budget and do contribute because they are service oriented institutions that provide services to the people and that is why they do not pay taxes to government and generate funds as such they need to invest more in economic infrastructure because that is where the emphasis is.
“China has one of the best sets of infrastructure in the world and the technology they have to invest in these infrastructures is overwhelming. I went to a city which is the biggest city in China with 33 million people; if you see the road network, they have it is so elaborate, in fact the control system is for improving on traffic. And everything in terms of their road network is unprecedented. I saw system that has to do with creating to increase revenue generation for the investment. It is a whole system and network that is setup and we need to do that,” he said. Writes Linda Gbartie
