Last Friday, the event of the historic groundbreaking of the Roberts International Airport (RIA) Highway Expansion Project that transforms the RIA highway into a modern four-lane facility, rivaling other international airport roads network, took the whole nation by storm, as it was led by President George M. Weah himself and an array of government officials and foreign dignitaries. Hot on the heels of the groundbreaking ceremony, Public Works Minister Sen. Mobutu Vlah Nyenpan and East International on Saturday, February 22, 2020 embarked on a major assessment ahead of demolition works expected to commence soon. Although the construction work comes amidst mounting public concerns regarding the technical capacity of the contractors and the viability of the project, Minister Nyenpan has assured critics that the project will be implemented in a timely fashion, taking into account value for money, The Analyst reports.
Proffering remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony, Public Works Minister Nyenpan disclosed that construction works for the new RIA highway will be undertaken by a consortium of international construction contractors under the banner of EAST International.
Reminding critics who expressed concerns about the contractor’s technical capacity, Minister Nyenpan assured that the Weah-led government always commences or completes projects for which the president broke ground.
“We broke ground for the Doe Community Road project and that project is completed; we broke ground for the Logan Town road project and that is completed, we broke ground for Phase Two of the Somalia Drive Road project and that project is ongoing along with several other projects,” he disclosed.
He intimated that the works will last for three years and the 45 km road will be divided into three lots for implementation purposes, further assuring that there will be value for money and that the Ministry will ensure that constituent members of the construction consortium will have the requisite technical capacity before being certified to work on the RIA project.
Beyond the Demolition Exercise
According to Minister Nyenpan, the demolition of structures along the RIA Highway coincides with the disbursement of over 1.5M United States Dollars as part of resettlement to scores of affected property owners along the RIA stretch.
Public Works Minister Sen. Mobutu Vlah Nyenpan and team are ensuring that this signature project undertaken by the CDC-led Administration comes to fruition.
The existing two-lane corridor totaling 45km was built in the 1970s during the Tubman’s Administration, and it is being used as a major passageway to the nation’s capital, Monrovia from the only International Airport in the country.
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