MONROVIA, Liberia – In a move that could prove both financially and politically costly, Liberia has yielded to pressure from High Power Exploration (HPX), agreeing to hire an independent operator for the Buchanan-Yekepa rail line. But a fundamental question looms over the decision: What if Guinea refuses to allow its iron ore to transit through Liberia?
The agreement, pushed aggressively by HPX, rests on a fragile premise—that Guinea will permit its iron ore to be transported via Liberian infrastructure. Yet, the government in Conakry has given no such approval. Instead, Guinea has embarked on its own $15 billion infrastructure initiative, which includes a 670-kilometer railway and a deep-water port at Moribayah. These projects are designed to keep Guinea’s mineral exports under its control.
Given this clear national strategy, why would Guinea bypass its own infrastructure in favor of a route through Liberia? The silence from Conakry suggests that Liberia may be making a costly miscalculation.
The stakes are high. If Guinea ultimately declines to route its ore through Liberia, the government in Monrovia will have committed itself to paying an independent rail operator for a service that may never be needed. What happens then? Will the Liberian government be forced to subsidize an idle railway operator, draining resources from already underfunded sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure?
Adding to the puzzle, Liberia already has a proven operator willing to continue running and maintaining the railway at no cost to the government. Since 2005, ArcelorMittal Liberia has overseen the operations of the Buchanan-Yekepa rail corridor, ensuring its upkeep and functionality. Despite this, Liberia is now considering diverting transit fees collected from rail users to finance an independent operator—without a guarantee that Guinea will ever utilize the railway.
For a country grappling with economic constraints and pressing social needs, this decision raises serious concerns. Why should Liberia commit its limited financial resources to accommodate a Guinean miner that has yet to secure permission from its own government? Shouldn’t national priorities—such as improving schools, hospitals, and roads—take precedence over satisfying the demands of a foreign mining company?
As Liberia moves forward with this arrangement, it risks embarrassment on the international stage. A government hiring and paying an independent rail operator only to find that the anticipated Guinean ore never arrives would be a costly policy misstep. More importantly, it would be a blow to Liberia’s economic interests, diverting funds from urgent national development needs in favor of a speculative mining deal.
Unless Monrovia receives concrete assurances from Conakry, its decision to embrace an independent rail operator may prove to be a gamble Liberia cannot afford to lose.
Trokon S. Wrepue is a Liberian journalist with 9 years of experience in the practice of journalism. Over the years, Trokon has reported on women and children issues, investigated public and private sectors corruption, environmental challenges and other critical human interest stories. He is currently the Editor of News for OK FM, one of Liberia’s premier media institutions in Monrovia. Besides being a journalist, Trokon is also a Mandela Washington Fellow. In 2022, he travelled to California in the US where he studied leadership, culture and diversities at the California State University. In 2023, he travelled to Johannesburg in South Africa and attended the Mandela Washington Fellowship Symposium of Young African Leaders.
