African Development Fund approves $12.13 million savings to fund additional works under the Bank-sponsored Fish Town-Harper Road Project

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, on Wednesday approved funding of $12.13 million to finance additional activities under the Bank-sponsored Fish Town-Harper Road Project in Liberia.

The funds will come from financial savings made in implementing the first phase of the project, approved in 2013. The savings stem from three instruments: a $2.01 million grant from the Bank Group’s Transitional Support Facility, a $9.39 million loan from the African Development Fund, and a $0.73 million loan from the Nigeria Trust Fund.

The new activities entail the development of additional socio-economic infrastructure, including upgrading about 11.5 kilometers of road and supporting women and youth associations to promote local products. The road project forms part of rehabilitation works on a 160.5 km stretch funded by the Bank along the 510 km corridor from the north-eastern town of Ganta to Harper in the south-eastern part of the country.

The African Development Bank’s Country Manager for Liberia, Benedict Kanu, noted the timeliness and significance of the resources made available for the project. He praised the Liberian government’s unwavering commitment to building priority infrastructure. “Poor physical infrastructure is a critical barrier to reducing poverty and accelerating growth in Liberia. Therefore, the funds approved will go a long way in financing much-needed road infrastructure in remote parts of the country. By so doing, the project will facilitate a vital driver of growth, transformation, and reduction in inequality in the country,” Kanu stressed.

As of February 2022, the African Development Bank Group has 16 ongoing operations in Liberia, representing a total commitment of $390 million.