Liberian President Joseph N. Boakai Sr. over the weekend broke ground on the Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties Electrification Expansion Project, which will connect Bopolu City, the capital of Gbarpolu County, as well as Lofa Bridge, Sawmill, and Kinjor in Grand Cape Mount County, to the national electricity grid.
The project, being implemented by the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), will extend a 33 kV distribution line from Tubmanburg to Bopolu City, providing electricity to towns along the route.
It will also extend the national grid to Kinjor and communities along the Kinjor corridor in Grand Cape Mount County, with an additional line running from Sawmill in Gbarpolu County to Lofa Bridge in Grand Cape Mount County.
LEC will construct approximately 101 kilometres of 33 kV primary overhead distribution lines and 86 kilometres of 0.4 kV secondary distribution lines. The project is expected to serve 18 towns and 7,033 households, as well as schools, clinics, and businesses, including Emirates Hospital.
The project is being financed entirely through LEC’s own resources and will be implemented by 12 Liberian contractors across 14 contract lots.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, LEC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mohammed M. Sherif described the project as a promise fulfilled.
“Today, we are not cutting a ribbon on something finished. We are breaking ground on a promise.
“This is a Liberian project: Liberian money, Liberian hands, Liberian light,” he said.
The project is expected to unlock new economic opportunities across both corridors, including agro-processing and cold storage facilities for farmers, small-scale manufacturing and workshops, value addition in the mining sector, fish storage and ice production, as well as tourism and hospitality development around Grand Cape Mount County’s lakes, beaches, and forests.
The expansion is also expected to facilitate the growth of banking, mobile money, and digital services.
Reliable electricity supply will further strengthen healthcare delivery, educational services, and county administration while creating an enabling environment for investment, job creation, and sustainable economic development.
“For years, when we asked why the factory was not built, why the harvest was sold raw, and why the investor went elsewhere, the answer was always the same: there is no electricity,” Mr. Sherif said.
“From today, that excuse begins to disappear. Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount are open for business.”
Mr. Sherif further emphasised that the arrival of electricity also places a responsibility on LEC and the Government to ensure a reliable power supply, facilitate timely customer connections, and deliver quality services to beneficiary communities.
“The grid and the mini-grid are not rivals; they are partners in the same mission,” Mr. Sherif said.
He noted that LEC would collaborate with Energicity and the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) to ensure that both electricity supply systems complement each other and provide improved services to customers in Gbarpolu County.
LEC currently serves more than 400,000 customers and adds approximately 15,000 new electricity connections every quarter.
The national grid now extends to towns and communities in Nimba, Bong, Rivercess, Grand Bassa, Maryland, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, and Margibi Counties.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a co-leader of Mission 300, was particularly recognised for financing the regional Côte d’Ivoire–Liberia–Sierra Leone–Guinea (CLSG) electricity interconnection project and its continued support for rural electrification and last-mile electricity access.
Discover more from Energy News Africa
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.