The US government has granted Liberia US$9.1mn to expand the electricity supply to the country’s capital city, Monrovia, and its surrounding areas
As part of the agreement, the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) will expand the electricity grid in Monrovia, both downtown and along Tubman Boulevard in Sinkor.
Speaking at the official signing ceremony of the US$9.1mn grant on 6 December 2012, the US Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac, said the agreement was important in several ways.
The US envoy said, “Energy is front and centre in the Liberian Government’s Agenda for Transformation, which will be launched next week. Early in her tenure, President Sirleaf has recognised that energy supply is key to balanced economic growth and has made rehabilitation and expansion of the country’s energy infrastructure the government’s highest priority.”
Malac added that the US government was proud to support this high priority project of Sirleaf's administration.
Malac noted that the US has been involved in helping restore electricity to Liberia since the signing of the comprehensive peace accords in 2003, and added, “We have invested more than US$50mn in the sector. We agree with the president that widely available and reasonably priced electricity is one of the central pillars on which Liberian development and prosperity will be built.”
The US envoy said the new funding agreement will provide electrical service to 7,000 new customers, more than doubling the current number of customers.
