Liberia: Giddings Pushes for Independent Road Fund As Liberia Accelerates Highway Expansion

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a report by The Liberian Investigator, says Liberia’s Public Works Minister Roland Lafayette Giddings is urging that the National Road Fund be allowed to operate independently. Speaking on Prime FM on July 21 in Monrovia, Giddings argued that a predictable, dedicated financing system is needed not only to build roads but to maintain them after completion.

The minister described a broad highway programme aimed at improving access across the country, including routes that often become difficult during the rainy season. He said the government has worked to keep major unpaved corridors passable while pursuing longer-term paving projects. According to the report, Giddings said travel to areas such as Maryland, Greenville, Lofa and Voinjama has improved, reducing the need for some southeastern travellers to pass through Côte d’Ivoire.

Giddings outlined several planned or ongoing projects, including efforts to create a paved corridor from Monrovia to Maryland by 2029 or 2030. He cited work on the Ganta-Saclepea-Tappita Highway, planned contracts covering Tappita to Toe Town, Toe Town to Zwedru, Zwedru to Fish Town and Fish Town to Maryland, and the scheduled commissioning of the Banga-Salayea Highway on July 28. He also said about US$72 million has been secured for pavement works from Salayea to Konia, with further financing being sought toward Voinjama and the Guinea border.

The report says Giddings framed road development as central to Liberia’s economy, agriculture and access to services. He cited a national road inventory showing roughly 14,075 kilometres of roads, with less than 10 percent paved, as evidence of the scale of the challenge.