Harper — Acting Public Works Minister Ruth Coker has hailed the completion of phase one of the Fish Town- Harper Road in southeastern Liberia, saying it is "contributing greatly to the growth and development of the region."

Phase one of the Fish Town-Harper Road project covers the 50 kilometers Harper to Karloken stretch and the 16 kilometers Harper Junction to Cavalla Customs road.

Speaking at the dedication of the road, Minister Coker said the completion of the road has improved internal and cross-border trade in Ivory Coast, especially the export of palm and rubber by the Maryland Oil Palm Planation (MOPP) and the Cavalla Rubber Corporation (CRC), among others.

According to her, the Fish Town Harper Road Project is part of the 510km road linking Ganta to Harper as part of the Trans West African Highway (Lagos - Nouakchott), and it seeks to improve roads connectivity, to reduce travel time, cost reduction for vehicle operation and maintenance and socio-economic development, amongst others.

Giving detail information about the project, she stated that the civil works supervision was implemented by the Work Consultant (Comptran Engineering and Planning in association with NIRAS) Ghana-Demark, and actual construction works carried out by the Contractor (China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Ltd. Co.) China; while the day to day management of the project was implemented by the Ministry of Public Works through the Project Implementation Unit with aid from other government line ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and EPA.