The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide Liberia with a twenty-year 19.6 million Euros ($27.3 million) loan facility for the rehabilitation of its only international airport – Roberts International Airport (RIA).
The project will be co-financed with the Saudi Fund for Development and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and will see the upgrade and restoration of RIA’s safety operations.
The Monrovia-based airport has been in a deplorable state for a while now forcing global carriers like Air France to pull out of Liberia’s airspace.
Liberia’s dilapidated airport infrastructure requires urgent attention
Liberia’s dilapidated airport infrastructure requires urgent attention
According to EIB, Liberia needs to secure a long-term loan that will enable it commence urgent work to upgrade the runway and address safety issues.
“Upgrading Monrovia’s airport is essential for Liberia and we are pleased to share experience from similar projects elsewhere in Africa,” EIB Vice President, Pim van Ballekom said.
Once completed, the investment will allow Liberia rehabilitate and re-brand the airport, ensuring a compliance with international civil aviation standards.
Categorically, part of the funds will be used to rebuild the airport’s runway.
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Improvements to the drainage and lighting are some of the key areas that will be addressed in the runway rehabilitation process, a facility that has been declared “unsafe” by aviation experts.
EIB approved the loan for RIA on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington at a ceremony attended by Liberian Minister for Finance Amara M. Konneh and Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Dr. J. Mills Jones.
The occasion allowed both parties to discuss economic issues concerning Liberia and EIB’s engagement in West Africa.
“The European Investment Bank has always been a true partner to the people of Liberia. The airport rehabilitation project is another clear manifestation of that partnership,” Konneh said.
