A major infrastructure project that will directly impact trade and travel for Sierra Leoneans has broken ground just across the border in Liberia, with the upgrade of the 86-kilometre Voinjama–Mendikorma highway.

The US$85 million project, officially launched on Saturday at the Mendikorma Border Post in Lofa County, is expected to strengthen the transport corridor linking northern Liberia with southern Sierra Leone and Guinea. Once completed, the highway will drastically cut travel times and boost cross-border commerce for communities on both sides of the Mano River Union frontier.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by senior officials from both nations, with the project being hailed as a tangible benefit of the stability and cooperation between Sierra Leone and Liberia following years of regional challenges.

Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, who officiated the launch, described the road as a turning point for communities long isolated by poor infrastructure. He recalled the historic hardships of travel in the region, stating that the new highway will improve access to healthcare, education, and trade.

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President Boakai specifically acknowledged his Sierra Leonean counterpart, President Julius Maada Bio, for facilitating the partnership that made the project possible.

“One day, he called me and said, ‘My brother, we have a company in Sierra Leone called Pavifort AL Associates that is constructing quality roads and could work with you,'” President Boakai recounted, crediting President Bio for brokering the deal with the Sierra Leonean construction giant.

The contract for the highway has been awarded to Pavifort AL Associates, a leading Sierra Leonean construction firm with a proven track record of major infrastructure projects in Sierra Leone, including the Kono-Kurubola-Kabala Road and urban upgrades in Freetown under the World Bank-funded IRUMP project.

The project is being implemented under a 25-year Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) concession through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Liberian government. Construction is expected to take three years, with completion targeted for 2029.

Speaking at the event, Pavifort CEO Alimou Sanu Barrie said the company is committed to delivering a durable, high-quality highway that reflects well on Sierra Leonean engineering.

“Every kilometre of this road will reflect durability, safety, and environmental responsibility,” Barrie said. He also acknowledged financial support from the United Bank for Africa Liberia and the African Export-Import Bank .

For Sierra Leonean traders and residents in border areas like Kailahun and the Eastern Province, the road upgrade is expected to ease the transport of goods, lower vehicle operating costs, and strengthen social ties across the historically interconnected communities of the region.

Liberian officials noted that the travel time between Voinjama and Mendikorma is expected to drop from roughly two-and-a-half hours to just one hour and fifteen minutes.

Representing Sierra Leone’s Embassy in Liberia, Witson Tebeh Yankuba Esq. described the project as a milestone in bilateral relations and reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to regional infrastructure cooperation.

The highway is part of a broader $364 million road development plan in Liberia that includes a major four-lane corridor from St. Paul Bridge to Bo Waterside, further solidifying the transport links between the two Mano River Union neighbours.