…Says It’s In The Interest of The Country
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I President Joseph Nyumah Boakai Sr has committed his government to creating an enabling environment to encourage more investment in Liberia. He said it is in the interest of the country and the investors themselves. “We are committed to encouraging investment in the interest of the country and the investors.”
President Boakai made the statement when he spoke Monday, April 8, 2024, at the executive mansion following a high-level meeting with Arcelor Mittal’s Executive Chairman, Mr Lakshmi Mittal.
The president revealed that during the meeting, he assured ArcelorMittal that nothing was going to stop the relationship between the company and Liberia but to encourage the increase of investment in Liberia.
“We just assured them that nothing is going to stop our relationship, and to encourage and increase investment in Liberia.” the president said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, Mr Lakshmi Mittal provided that his company is committed to investing in Liberia to explore the full potential of the Nimba range.
‘Wr had a very fruitful and honest discussion on the prospect of Liberia. We are committed to invest. We believe in commitment and delivering our commitment. Our commitment is not limited to 15m-tons, our commitment is going much behind 15m-tons to explore the full potential of the Nimba range.
The meeting underscored the strong ties and collaborative spirit that have characterized the relationship between Liberia and ArcelorMittal since 2005 when the company first entered the country after the civil war,
was centered on high-level discussions concerning ArcelorMittal’s operations in Liberia and President Boakai’s Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism (ARREST) Agenda for the sustainable development of Liberia.
It was revealed that ArcelorMittal’s initial 5 million tons per annum operation reopened Liberia’s mining industry, shipping the first ore to customers in 2011.
Through its new expansion project, the
company has committed $1.4 billion in new investment towards building an iron ore concentrator to produce high-grade iron ore, which increases production to 15 million tons per annum.
The company’s Chief Executive said that with this new outlay, the company’s total investments in the country will
exceed $3.0 billion, which also includes a substantial investment in the Yekepa-Buchanan rail infrastructure. He added that the first phase of the expansion is due for completion in late 2024.
He provided that ArcelorMittal is further studying a phased development of up to 30 million tons per annum. Consistent with President Boakai’s vision of empowering Liberian youth with essential technical and operational skills, at today’s meeting ArcelorMittal reaffirmed its dedication to additional investment in its Vocational and Technical Center (VTC), as well as support to other Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes in Liberia.
AML Boss noted that by 2025, ArcelorMittal’s VTC will have 200 skilled youths in their program in addition to the 100 who have already graduated.
Furthermore, he stated
that the collaboration with other technical vocational training centers around the country will help to enrich Liberia’s talent pool and drive socioeconomic advancement in the country.
He stated that the company will also continue to provide scholarships for Liberian students pursuing higher education abroad, thereby nurturing
the next generation of leaders.
