Building a New Generation of Liberian Rail Experts: Spotlight on Edwin Tokpa, Rail Operations Manager at ArcelorMittal Liberia

The Liberian mining sector is one of the largest contributors to overall government revenue, with ArcelorMittal Liberia top of the list of companies with the highest revenue contribution. Runing an operation the scale of ArcelorMittal Liberia requires a highly skilled, well developed, and equipped workforce, with Liberians leading in various aspects of operations. The value they bring is critical for sustaining operations and ensuring a stable revenue stream for the government. These unsung heroes include engineers, geologists, safety and environmental professionals, locomotive operators, technicians, mechanics, and others.  

At ArcelorMittal Liberia Rail Operations, Edwin Tokpa is one of the many Liberian talents recruited and trained by the company who is now leading in a critical operational role. As manager for rail operations, Tokpa, is responsible for overseeing the safe, efficient, and cost-effective transportation of mined iron ore and other equipment between Yekepa and Buchanan on the rail line.

He ensures that rail operations are scheduled in line with production goals, oversees safety and utilization of locomotives, and maximizes the efficiency of rail movements to reduce delays.

A civil engineer, Tokpa joined ArcelorMittal Liberia over a decade ago with no experience in rail operations, but thanks to investment made by AML into his professional development and coupled with his commitment to duty and passion, over time, Tokpa has gained vast technical knowledge and skills and is a valued member of the AML workforce

“When I joined AML, I came in with just my engineering knowledge. I knew absolutely nothing about rail operations. All that I know today and the experience that I have were provided here by ArcelorMittal Liberia. There’s no school in Liberia where you can learn about rail operations,” explained Tokpa.

When ArcelorMittal entered Liberia in 2005, it inherited a railway that was massively destroyed during the civil war and was lacking everything from physical components to the human capital to rebuild, maintain and operate the infrastructure.

Tokpa was one of many other Liberians who was given the opportunity to work with the ArcelorMittal-hired contractor, Odebrecht Construction International on the rebuilding of the railway.

After the completion of the rail rehabilitation, he was recruited by ArcelorMittal Liberia as a document control specialist and was later assigned to the company’s Estate Department as a civil engineer.

Once rail operations resumed, in 2012 Tokpa was promoted to a new role as a Dispatch Superintendent, responsible for supervising all train controllers in the rail traffic control room and was again later promoted to the position of superintendent for rail operations.

Tokpa’s hard work has seen him served in other important roles including Training Operations Manager and now Rail Operations Manager.

“My journey with ArcelorMittal Liberia has been rewarding and impactful, both at a personal level and for my country Liberia. For many of these roles, I was the first Liberian in AML history to be entrusted to serve. It shows how much the company believes in the talents and potential of Liberians. I am proud that others and I are being trained to lead this company into the future,” a grateful Tokpa explained.

A key component of ArcelorMittal’s business strategy in Liberia focuses on investing in the training and development of Liberians. The company supports and runs several training and educational initiatives such as local and international scholarships for Liberians, a Young Professionals Program (YPP), a tuition free vocational training academy, a Process Operator training program, an Articulated Dump Truck driving, and a train driving program amongst others.

In addition to these, the company implements a knowledge transfer and succession program where expat employees are required to share expertise, skills, and experience with local members of their teams, projects, and departments and to mentor young Liberian professionals for future leadership roles.

This approach has made a significant impact especially in AML’s rail department where almost all supervisors and managers are Liberians and over 98 percent of the entire railway team are also Liberians.

In the Dispatch section of rail operations, nearly all train drivers are Liberians, thereby reducing the reliance on expat train drivers. This is after several years of running successive cycles of train driving trainings for Liberians. To date, twenty-four (24) Liberians have been trained and certificated as train drivers and are employed by ArcelorMittal Liberia.

As ArcelorMittal Liberia advances with its Phase II expansion project, to triple its annual iron ore production, Tokpa and others have already seen the increasing demands for more qualified Liberian professionals and are excited about the new opportunities being created in jobs and training for Liberians.

“It is a privilege to be a part of ArcelorMittal Liberia’s story of rebuilding, maintaining, and expanding the capacity of one of Liberia’s most critical economic assets ─ the railway. The level of transformation we have seen on the railway, truly reflects ArcelorMittal’s commitment to Liberia and to work with the government and people of Liberia to build a more prosperous and stable economic future together.”

In readiness for its Phase II operations, the entire railway is undergoing major refurbishment by ArcelorMittal Liberia to restore the railway to its full design speed. These efforts which include expanding the railway capacity to thirty million tonnes per annum (30Mpta), rehabilitating all nine (9) sidings, replacement of all timber sleepers with steel sleepers, procurement of 500 additional wagons, 9 new locomotives are being led by Tokpa and others, signalling the readiness of the new generation of Liberian rail professionals to drive the company and the sector into the future.