By Allen P. Lablah, lallenpaye@yahoo.com
SANNIQUELLIE, Liberia- Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor has broken ground for the pavement of the Sanniquellie-Loguatuo highway, urging the China Railway Seventh Group or CRSG Road Construction Company to incorporate Liberian Construction Companies, which is 47.1 kilometers.
She also called for the employment of Nimbains in the road construction works in that northeastern area of Liberia near the country’s border with Ivory Coast.
When completed, the project will benefit road users, transporters, farmers, the project area covers a population of about 790,000 inhabitants, especially disadvantaged groups such as women and children who constitute the majority. It will be executed from January 2020 to December 2022 at an estimated cost of USD87.87million.
VP Taylor said there is no gift greater than the road pavement in Nimba and as such community residents and local construction companies must be able to benefit or form part of the road pavement exercise.
The Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC Vice President asserted that the incorporation of locals within the civil works will be hasten, enhanced, in order to alleviate community complains against the company.
The Liberian Vice President used the Monrovia to Gompa Road Pavement as a case study, where she stressed that during the construction period, citizens within the perimeter of the project complained a lot. She then hoped that such situation should be avoided by CRSG Company in Nimba County.
‘’As you may be aware this government stands for the poor, therefore community residents should be the direct beneficiaries of the works be it skillful and unskillful she intoned,’’ the VP said.
Vice President Taylor applauded Liberia’s partners in progress for their continuous supports to the George Mannah Weah-led Government in making sure the president’s vision is realized in getting quality road connectivity across the country and to neighboring communities.
She maintained that during the Sanniquellie-Loguatuo Highway pavement, the government will like to see an open sidewalk as well as a highway decorated with lights, because highways in Liberia are very much dark.
VP Taylor served as proxy for President George Mannah Weah recently (Thursday, December 20, 2019The commencement of the civil works pickup immediately on Friday, December 20, 2019 after the groundbreaking program by the Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor.
Mrs. Howard-Taylor pointed out the importance of roads maintenance calling on the Ministry of Public Works to collaborate and coordinate with the contracting company to train citizens especially in road maintenance works in order to maintain the quality of these roads been paved.
According to VP Taylor the pavement of the Sanniquellie-Loguatuo Highway is a clear manifestation that Nimba County is enjoying her share of the government national cake.
Giving the brief profile of the project Mr. Claude E. Langley Deputy Minister for Technical Services , Ministry of Public Works says the road project is under the Project Title: Mano River Union Road Development Facilitation Programme Phase ii. Paving of Fish Town to Kelipo 20kilometer and Sanniquellie- Loguatuo Highway 47.1km.
He Liberia, Cote D. Ivoire and by extension the MRU Region which it project area targets Fish Town-Kelipo (River Gee County) and Sanniquellie-Loguatuo(Nimba County).
In Liberia, the Ministry of Public Works and a Joint Technical Committee are the executing agencies.
According to the Deputy Minister for Technical Services the project is a continuation of the African Development Bank’s support to the regional integration of the Mano River Union Member States Liberia, Cote D’ Ivoire , Sierra Leone and Guniea and in support of Liberia’s Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.
Mr. Claude E. Langley maintained that the project aims is to improve road transport connectivity as a strategy to address and minimize fragility, the Bank financed the ongoing first phase of the Mano River Union Transport Programme. It covers the MRU countries in order to open up the countries and the MRU region and bring to bear the innumerable economic potentials of these countries.
Mr. Langley stresses that this second phase of the programme builds on the first phase and is aimed at the covering the sections that could not be covered under phase I financing within and between the two countries Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire for regional integration and trade.
The Liberia Deputy Public Works Minister for Technical Services indicated that the overall objective of the project is to boost the post-conflict economic recovery of Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire by improving road infrastructure and promoting intra-community and regional trade.
He said specifically, the project seeks to improve transport conditions on the two road sections: Fish Town (20Km) in Liberia and Sanniquelllie-Loguatuo(47.1km)Liberia/Cote D’Ivoire Border)in order to reduce transport costs, facilitate the free movement of goods and services between the two countries and improve the living conditions of the project communities.
Mr. Langley asserted that the project mainly comprises the development and paving of a total of 67.1km of road linking the south-eastern Liberia and Western part of Cote D’ Ivoire.
‘’The road sections concerned are: (i) Development of 20km road from Fish Town to Kelipo (River Gee County in Liberia) and (ii)Development of 47.1km from Sanniquellie to Loguatuo of Liberia, up to the Border Town of Gbeunta in Cote D’Ivoire,’’ he added.
The ground breaking ceremony at the weekend was attended by cross-sections of citizens and government officials including; Mobutu Vlah Nyenpan Sr, Minister of Public Works, H’ele’ne Cave’ Head of Delegation , EU, Dr. Orison Amu Country Manager African Development Bank, Shi Guorui Deputy General Manager, China Railway Seventh Group or CRSG, Rev. Emmanuel Nimely, Religious Advisor to the President, Joseph P. Todd Deputy Minister for Administration Ministry of Public Works, D. Dorr Cooper Nimba County Superintendent , Nimba County District 3 Representative Joseph Nyan Sonwarbi, Representative of the European Investment Bank amongst others.