Gov’t, BADEA Sign US$30M Loan Agreement

Government and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BEDEA), have signed a US$30 million financing agreement.

The money will be used to upgrade the Salayea-Konia Road Corridor in Lofa County.

The Agreement also included an additional US$700,000 grant to enhance health service delivery along the Gbarnga-Voinjama Road Corridor.

The route is key to serve several communities, and travelers in that part of the country.

The ceremony primarily focused on the financing of Salayea-Konia leg of the Gbarnga-Mendikorna highway in addition to financing other sectors that includes energy and water.

The road project is expected to enhance connectivity, reduce travel time and foster economic growth, particularly agriculture and trade.

At the signing ceremony on Monday, January 26, 2026, in Monrovia, Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine K. Ngafuan said, the loan agreement reflects government’s commitment to advance infrastructure development in every part of the country.

Ngafuan: “The money will be used to improve service delivery, while at the time, strengthen cooperation with its international and development partners.”

He said the sole responsible of the Finance Ministry is to seek funding that will enable other ministries and agencies to carry out their activities smoothly without any hindrance or delay.

“I am happy that one time I said, the role of the Finance Ministry is to pass the ball so others can score. So, we pass the ball and Public Works and Health ministries have scored, and they have been scoring goals. The reason why we are happy about this project is that, when we took over as a government two years ago, this project was stalled, and we had to work with our international partners to get it back on track.”

Mr. Ngafuan said, road infrastructure and energy are tough constraints to economic growth, as such, they need to be dealt with in a very important manner, “because they have positive effects on all the other sectors.”

“We had to renegotiate certain framework of the agreement to ensure that this project is back on course. We had to also ensure that government was meeting its obligation in the agreement, and as a result, we received a commitment from our partner that they will continue to finance the project.”

He said the commitment to resume financing the project came out of several meetings with the group in Washington D. C. USA.

“Few weeks ago, I visited this corridor, and what I saw was very impressive with the level of work done so far. We do not intend for the work to stop, because as the road reaches Salayea in the coming weeks. We need to move straight to Konia without delay.

Working with the Public Works, BEDEA and other partners, we need to ensure that speed and quality that we are going to look out for in the coming months. We are going to put more money into roads and many good things are going to happen in the coming months.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Ngafuan has disclosed that the US$700,000 grant given to the health sector will help hospitals along the Gbarnga-Mendikorna corridor, as great works have been carryout in the various health facilities in that region.

He said the grant also aims to strengthen access to essential medical services for residents along that corridor.

BEDEA Operations Expert and head of delegation, Abdellah El Bouchiki, commended the government for the support towards the project, stating that both Liberia and BEDEA, have a long-standing relationship that have come a long way.

He said BEDEA has had the privilege of financing strategic projects, as the Salayea-Konia Road Corridor represent the extension of the project that they have already being financing.

He said the Agreement also created opportunities for greater economic resilience, social inclusion and an opportunity to enhance connectivity, thereby amplifying the effort that they have made so far.

Macpherson C. Marbiah writes/0886442881-0777250370