The Ministry of Public Works in collaboration with the World Bank has signed the Liberia Urban Resilience Project.

According to the Ministry, the project is jointly funded through the World Bank's IDA Financing Facility, amounting to US$40M and the French Development Agency also provides EURO 10M for its implementation.

The Project, among other things, is expected to be implemented in parallel with both fundings provided through setting up of a Project Management Unit (PMU) to be managed by the Ministry of Public Works.

Liberia's Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel Tweah, has lauded the World Bank for the strong partnership, noting that the Liberia Urban Resilience Project seeks to integrate various networks of Public Sector Actors across the country's major municipalities, aimed at addressing drainage and related waste management challenges.

Minister Tweah also extolled the concerted efforts of various stakeholders and donor partners, including the African Development Bank, for the massive support given to the Government of Liberia.

He emphasized that the government's development blueprint - the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development will continue to have socio-economic returns on citizens of Liberia.

For his part, World Bank Country Director Pierre Frank Laporte, reaffirmed the Bank's commitment to Liberia's national development goals, mainly in the areas of infrastructure.

Also speaking, Public Works Minister-Designate, Ruth Coker-Collins said the Liberia Urban Resilience Project was birthed as a result of a request by President George Manneh Weah in support of a program that would eventually impact the lives of ordinary Liberians.

She noted that postwar Liberia has faced a major challenge due to inadequate spatial planning and land use strategy that largely account for high rural-urban migration and lack of adequate programs for proper land use.

The Project is expected to last for six years with components of institutional strengthening.