Liberia gets $500m World Bank loan

Liberia has obtained a $500 million World Bank’s loan for the completion of the Coastal Road Project within three years. The Liberia Minister of Information, Minister Eugene Nagbe, said in his regular press conference,n Monrovia Thursday, that government would pay a concessional interest rate of 0.5 per cent over a reasonable timeframe.

Nagbe added that following the ratification of the loan agreement by the government, the World Bank would propose a consortium comprising it, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank (AFDB), that will provide an additional $500 million, bringing the agreement to $1 billion. The Information minister told journalists that President George Weah is insistent that the loan agreement, when ratified, should see off the completion of the Coastal Road Project within three years.

“President Weah’s insistence on road construction is based on empirical and scientific evidence and data presented to him by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in its Constraints Analysis following an assessment of Liberia’s development challenge,” he emphasised. According to the MCC’s Constraints Analysis, the lack of good road network and energy are the two most development constraints hampering the growth and development of Liberia. 

(APA)