Ellen submits airport concession to House

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has submitted to the House of Representatives a concession agreement intended to make Liberia’s airports potentially viable and become a key hub for cargo transport within the Mano River Union and West Africa.

She sent a communication to the House of Representatives on Thursday, 18 May, detailing the concession between the Government of Liberia and the Global Logistics Services or GLS for ratification.

Mrs. Sirleaf has told lawmakers that the aim and objective of the concession agreement is to enhance the capacity and improve airfreight supply chain and logistics to and from Liberia.

She says further that the purpose of the concession agreement is to actualize government initiative and the Roberts International Airport or RIA master plan through the Liberia Airport Authority or LAA of financing, designing, operating, maintaining and transferring a new state of the art cargo handling facility and cargo operation at the airport.
LAA is a state – owned corporation with managerial and operational control over all government airports in the Republic of Liberia.

It has agreed to grant a concession to GLS, a company registered under the laws of Liberia with substantial financial and technical support from the International Finance Cooperation and the National Aviation Services, a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Kuwait.

GLS has agreed to finance, develop, operate, maintain and transfer a new cargo handling facility at RIA. The House Plenary has forwarded the communication to the committees on Transport, Judiciary and Investment to report to the body.
By Bridgett Milton-Edited by Winston W. Parley