Through Executive Order 153, President Joseph N. Boakai has expressed continued support for a modern, multi-user rail system that provides fair and transparent access for mining companies, agriculture, forestry, and other sectors to drive Liberia’s economic transformation.
This vision will be delivered through the establishment of an independent Liberian National Railway Authority (NRA) with a mandate to regulate train operations, set access rules, monitor compliance, and ensure efficient and sustainable use of Liberia’s sovereign rail assets.
The Executive Order highlighted the strategic importance of railway infrastructure in driving Liberia’s long-term economic transformation, regional integration, and global competitiveness. It also recognizes the need to institutionalize a permanent and technically competent Railway Authority that promotes equitable, safe, and sustainable access to rail infrastructure for all sectors, including mining, agriculture, and forestry.
Under President Boakai’s plan, the government retains sovereign ownership of the asset, supported by a qualified international team to design the institutional framework, multi-user access model, financing structures, and climate resilience safeguards. This would be the first time that Liberia’s rail infrastructure is overseen by genuine industry experts. The economic potential is significant. Former Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, recently said the Yekepa–Buchanan rail corridor itself sits atop an estimated 17 billion tonnes of iron ore – a figure he valued at US$2.38 trillion.
But crucially, the National Railway Authority’s purview would be nationwide, including not just the Yekepa–Buchanan line, but the Bong Mines Railway and the Mano River Railway, signaling intent to implement a genuine multi-sector, multi-user rail system that could not only transport freight but also people. The establishment of the NRA is a key pillar of the Boakai administration’s ARREST Agenda.
The formal enactment of the legislation is pending ratification by the Legislature. Ivanhoe Liberia’s Concession and Access Agreement that is currently being considered by the Legislature, brings the establishment of a multi-user rail system closer to reality as it introduces an additional user to the Yekepa-Buchanan rail and port corridor.
