The House of Representatives has ratified the Concession and Access Agreement (CAA) between the Government of Liberia, Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG), and Ivanhoe. The decision was reached on Thursday, December 11, 2025, following the submission of a comprehensive report from the Joint Committee on Investment and Concessions, Judiciary, Ways & Means, and Good Governance. The Plenary mandated the committee to review the agreement.
The Joint Committee presented findings following an extensive review of the CAA and testimonies from members of the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC). The report recalled that on August 19, 2021, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Transport, granted SMFG/Ivanhoe a conditional Right of Access for export of Guinean iron ore through Liberia. After negotiations, the IMCC and SMFG/Ivanhoe signed the CAA, which received attestation from the Ministry of Justice and subsequently approved by the President and submitted to the Legislature for ratification.
The report also indicated that the CAA grants SMFG and Ivanhoe Liberia Limited a 25-year right to transport iron ore from Guinea through Liberia using the existing rail line and the Port of Buchanan. Concessionaires are required to upgrade rail capacity and improve the Buchanan Commercial Quay to support safe, multi-user operations. According to the report, Liberia will serve as a transit route for industrial goods destined for Guinea.
Additionally, the agreement provides for 1.5% customs user fee on imports (CIF-based) and US$500,000 annual customs transit fee Infrastructure Investments Ivanhoe Atlantic has already contributed US$37 million to the Liberian Revenue Authority via payments to the Central Bank of Liberia. Once the CAA is ratified by both houses of the Legislature, Ivanhoe Atlantic will make US$35 million in direct payments to the Central Bank via the following Concession Payments.
In accordance with the CAA, “US$1 million will be paid within 10 business days after it has been signed by the President and published on the gazette. US$10 million within 10 business days after the date the agreement takes effect. US$15 million on the date Ivanhoe Atlantic commences operations on the railway.US$2.33 million on the date the NRA Act is enacted. US$3.33 million on the date the Independent Operator is appointed by the NRA; and US$3.33 million on the first anniversary of the appointment of the Independent Operator.”
The CAA also includes the establishment of a Community Development Fund (CDF) to support communities along the railway in Nimba, Grand Bassa, and Bong. Ivanhoe Atlantic has committed annual payments starting at US$1 million, increasing consecutively to US$5 million annually in five years. This will be contributed annually throughout the decades during which Ivanhoe will transit high-grade iron ore through Liberia. In addition to the concession payments and CDF, Ivanhoe Atlantic will invest nearly US$1 billion in Liberia across two phases, making it one of the largest infrastructure investments in the country’s modern history, focused entirely on road, rail and port systems.
In Phase 1, Ivanhoe Atlantic will invest US$64 million to build roads leading to the railway and rehabilitate the existing track and port infrastructure. Target production capacity once the infrastructure development is completed is 2–5 metric tons per annum (mtpa) of high-grade iron ore. Phase 2 will see an additional US$888 million invested in direct capital costs, split between an estimated US$452 million railway upgrade and US$436 million to expand the Buchanan Port.
The work is projected to expand capacity to accommodate Ivanhoe Atlantic’s target export capacity of 30 mtpa, pending feasibility studies and regulatory approvals. Approximately US $800 million will also be invested in Guinea to connect the countries’ trade corridor. Additionally, the investment and concession payments granting Ivanhoe Atlantic user-access to the railway will generate approximately US$60 million of revenue per year for Liberia in rail user fees, dividends, taxes, and other sources of revenue generation. In addition to the financial investment, Ivanhoe Liberia will hire 500 people in Phase 1 of the project and create an estimated 3,000 indirect jobs through domestic suppliers and service providers. With the ratification of the agreement, Liberians will benefit from this critical national asset, driving broader economic growth in sectors across mining, agriculture, freight, manufacturing, health, and education, observers believe.
Ivanhoe has completed and submitted an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to the EPA. The ESIA included extensive consultations with communities along the Yekepa-Buchanan corridor and provides grievance mechanisms and environmental/social management plans. The House’s Joint Committee concluded that the CAA will benefit Liberia, supports the goals of the Mano River Union and ECOWAS; thus, the agreement should be ratified without reservation. Following the debate, a motion by Sekou Kanneh of District #2, Montserrado County, was endorsed by Plenary, thereby passing the Agreement and forwarding it to the Liberian Senate for concurrence.
