On December 2, the Chinese ambassador to Liberia, H.E. Ren Yisheng attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Section I (39 km) of the road project from Ganta to Zwedru in Liberia and delivered a speech. H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, President of Liberia, Acting Minister of Public Works Hon. Ruth Coker-Collins, Minister of Finance Hon. Samuel D. Tweah, Jr. and other cabinet members, Nimba county Senator and House Representative and other local officials, representatives of the local public, and the representative of World Bank attended the event.

Ambassador Ren highly commended H.E. President Weah for attaching great importance to infrastructure construction, stated that Chinese-funded enterprises participating in road and other infrastructure construction in Liberia have promoted the docking of the “Belt and Road” initiative with the “Eight Major Initiatives” of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which is in line with the initiative of “ Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development”(PAPD) advocated by H.E. President Weah. Ambassador Ren emphasized that China is willing to continue to cooperate with Liberia to jointly promote Liberia’s economic and social development, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

In his speech, H.E. President Weah stated that the start of Section I of the Ganta-Zwedru highway project via Tappita would end the region’s history without standard highways and help Liberia communicate with neighboring countries including Guinea, which is a vivid manifestation of the “Pro-poor Agenda”. He emphasized that infrastructure construction and road connectivity are vital to economic and social development, and hoped to continue to receive strong support from international partners.

President Weah and Ambassador Ren and others broke ground for the project. The head of the project contractor Chongqing International Construction Company, Ltd. signed the project contract with the Minister of Finance Tweah and Acting Minister of Public Works Collins.