MONROVIA — Liberia opened a dedicated office on Thursday for the team designing its second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact. The government aims to sign the agreement by December 2027 to fund new power transmission lines and rewrite the nation’s mining laws.
Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Samuel A. Stevquoah, acting on behalf of President Joseph Boakai as chair of the Cabinet, officially opened the facility. The Compact Development Team previously operated out of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan confirmed the new building was funded directly through the national budget.
Stevquoah emphasized that a well-designed compact will significantly expand electricity access for citizens, communities, and industrial sectors.
Speaking at the ceremony, outgoing U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Zadrozny delivered direct remarks regarding Liberia’s responsibility to foster a healthy business environment. Marking the end of his diplomatic tenure in Monrovia, Zadrozny noted that Washington cannot force Liberia to enforce its own laws, honor contracts, or create transparency. He stated that while the Boakai administration has declared Liberia open to foreign enterprise, economic growth cannot rely on foreign assistance alone.
Zadrozny linked contract enforcement and regulatory consistency directly to the mining sector, stressing that addressing illegal mining protects national revenues and encourages responsible investment. He urged Liberia to demand high standards from all foreign partners, including legal compliance, transparency, local employment, and fair taxation.
The second MCC compact consists of two primary projects. The first focuses on energy sector transformation, covering transmission infrastructure, governance, and workforce development. The second focuses on mining governance and investment facilitation. National Coordinator Alieu Faud Nyei reported that MCC’s Investment Management Committee merged two energy concept notes while approving the mining note as submitted, praising the quality of Liberia’s proposals.
The development team is now in the joint design stage, working to turn these concepts into a detailed implementation plan by March 2027. Under the proposed schedule, MCC’s Investment Management Committee will review the design in July, followed by MCC board consideration in September. Negotiations between both governments are planned for October and November, targeting a final compact signature by December 2027. Nyei acknowledged the timeline is demanding, adding that funding disbursement will depend on how quickly Liberia meets specific compact conditions, with project execution expected in 2028 or 2029.
Under the energy transmission component, engineers are evaluating eight potential lines and eight substations. Key proposals include a Buchanan-to-Monrovia transmission line to encourage industrial growth outside the capital, as well as expansion of the Paynesville substation. The team is also scoping a longer line extending from Botota into Maryland County through comprehensive modeling, cost estimates, and multi-criteria analyses.
On sector governance, the compact aims to clarify regulations for independent power producers, encourage private sector participation in power distribution, and strengthen integration with the regional power market. In collaboration with the Finance Ministry, the team is working to transition government institutions to prepaid electricity meters to manage public utility expenditures.
Regarding mining reforms, Nyei highlighted that Liberia’s current mining law is over two decades old and relies on piecemeal amendments despite a 2010 policy framework. The team plans to draft a new mining law and a model mineral development agreement by late 2027 in coordination with the Law Reform Commission. Additionally, an airborne geophysical survey will begin in the Harper Quadrangle to map underground resources before contract negotiations, preventing under-declaration by commercial exploration firms.
The development team currently stands at 13 members and is expected to expand to 19. MCC representatives have scheduled technical missions for October, with the Liberian team slated to travel to Washington in November.
Finance Minister Ngafuan urged the team to maintain momentum without compromising quality, noting that public demand for reliable power remains urgent. He highlighted that the mining sector drove 70 percent of national economic growth over the past year and noted that the national budget has expanded from 750 million to 1.3 billion since the current administration took office.
Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) Managing Director Mohamed M. Sherif said energy demand is growing at an unprecedented rate, requiring private capital. Sherif announced that LEC is advancing solar concessions in Nimba and Grand Bassa counties while engaging independent power producers across solar, thermal, hydro, and cross-border supply networks.
Amara Kamara, Commissioner at the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC)—an entity established under the first MCC compact stated that regulatory frameworks have already reduced average electricity tariffs from 25 cents to 22 cents per kilowatt-hour, with new regional offices opening in Harper and Ganta.
Liberia’s initial MCC compact, which ran from 2016 to 2021, provided $146.3 million toward the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant as part of a $257 million broader investment. Senior Economist Thomas B. Kanneh added that the initial compact helped expand LEC’s customer base from roughly 35,000 to nearly 157,000 connections.
Closing the ceremony, Stevquoah thanked Zadrozny for his 33 years of diplomatic service and formally declared the new compact development headquarters open.
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