US Embassy hails secret HPX deal

The United States Government, through its Embassy in Monrovia has lauded the weekend secret multi-user railway deal signed between the Government of Liberia and American owned -HPX/ Ivanhoe Atlantic.

By Lincoln G. Peters

Monrovia, July 8, 2025: The US Embassy statement comes as President Joseph Boakai and delegation left the country on Monday for Trump’s July 9-11 meeting with four other African leaders.

Meanwhile, in the brief release posted on the US Embassy social media page, the Americans expressed appreciation, and welcomed the controversial railway signing agreement, arguing that it will boost the Liberian economy by US$1.8 billion investment package.

 “The U.S. Embassy welcomes the signing of a concession and access agreement between U.S. owned Ivanhoe Atlantic and the Government of Liberia. This estimated $1.8 billion deal is a crucial step towards President Boakai’s objectives of developing Liberia’s multi-user rail policy and securing new international investment. By increasing U.S. investment in Africa, we drive mutual prosperity and support Liberia’s move from aid to trade,” the US Embassy post read.

Reports over the weekend suggested that President Boakai was being pushed to sign the Ivanhoe Atlantic deal to enable him to have something to present to President Trump during their meeting.

Exactly as was reported, on Sunday, July 6, the Liberian government secretly signed the deal behind closed doors with Ivanhoe Atlantic, a Delaware-based company.

The signing ceremony was initially scheduled for Saturday, July 5, at the National Investment Commission but was later postponed to Sunday, July 6.

However, when reporters arrived at the NIC on the new date, they were denied access and informed that media coverage had been revoked due to a last-minute change in protocol.

According to reports, the deal seeks to rehabilitate and expand Liberia’s critical railway corridor from Tokadeh, Nimba County, to the Port of Buchanan.

The agreement also includes the construction of new rail links into neighboring Guinea to facilitate the transport of iron ore from Guinean mines through Liberian ports.

The sticky issue here is that Guinea may no longer have use of the Liberian rail, as that country is set to commission its own rail in December.

Pushing for a deal to swing Liberia’s railway.

Sources clothed with information about the HPX deal, which have seen former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah unjustly slapped with a US-Travel restriction because of US30 million paid to the Weah regime in good faith for a deal that was never sealed say Ivanhoe’s push for unlimited access to the railway is to swing it to a third party.

The source stated that Ivanhoe’s push for unlimited railway access aims to increase its value for sale to a third party, which would, in return, operate the railway in a deal reminiscent of the MedTech Scientific deal, which continues to divert 80 percent of the country’s import revenue to a foreign company.

This would also, in return, reduce revenue intake from existing companies like ArcelorMittal Liberia, which will now count such payments as expenditures, thereby reducing their taxes owed to the Liberian Government.

No public disclosure of the deal yet

However, public disclosure of the agreement remains nonexistent. There has been no press release from the Executive Mansion, no legislative debate, and no formal communication to the public.

Liberia’s railway is a strategic national asset — one of only a handful in West Africa with direct port access to the Atlantic.

Under current arrangements, the Government of Liberia owns the infrastructure while ArcelorMittal, a longstanding investor, operates it and shares access under multi-user terms.

ArcelorMittal Liberia is also one of Liberia’s largest private sector employers, directly employing between 3,000 and 3,500 workers, with over 90 percent of them being Liberian nationals. The company also supports thousands of additional jobs indirectly through contractors and local suppliers.

Its ongoing Phase II expansion project is expected to create more than 2,000 new jobs, particularly in construction, logistics, and technical fields, as the company moves to triple its iron ore production.

In addition to direct employment, ArcelorMittal operates a vocational training academy in Yekepa, Nimba County, where young Liberians receive training in mechanical and electrical engineering, plant operations, and other industrial skills, with many graduates securing long-term employment within the company or related sectors.

The deal comes amid Arcelor Mittal Liberia’s existing MDA

Despite the secret deal between the Government of Liberia and Ivanhoe Liberia, an existing agreement exists between the Liberian Government and ArcelorMittal Liberia, which grants the latter the right to operate the railway for 25 years.

The amended Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed in 2021 between the Government of Liberia and ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) is at the center of this dilemma.

The agreement, originally valued at $800 million and now expanded to $1.2 billion, outlines a bold commitment by AML to invest in a modern iron ore concentrator, increase production capacity, create over 2,000 new direct jobs, and revitalize local supply chains and vocational training across mining communities.

The new MDA has been bedeviled with controversies and conspiracies over the claim that AML wants to monopolize the railway and serve as a player and referee, a claim the company has continued to debunk.

Recently, AML debunked claims that it is blocking other companies from using the Yekepa-Buchanan railway as false. “This is simply not true,” the company said.

According to the company, AML supports a system where multiple companies can use the railway fairly, under clear rules set by the government.

“When AML first came to Liberia, the railway was not working, and the government didn’t have the money to fix it. As part of its agreement, AML fully repaired and has been maintaining the railway so that mining exports and other businesses could continue,” it said.

Fear of legal issues

There are fears of potential legal issues, as the Government of Liberia signs a railway access deal with Ivanhoe amid an existing MDA with AML, which gives it 100 percent control over the Yekepa-Buchanan railway.

President Boakai left on Monday

Meanwhile, the Executive Manson in a press released dated July 7, 2025, announced that President  Boakai departed the country Monday morning for a working visit to Washington, D.C., United States of America.

Mr. Boakai was accompanied by a high-level delegation of government officials and technical experts, including foreign Minister  Sara Beysolow Nyanti,  Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan, National Security Advisor  Samuel K. Woods II,  • Major General Daniel Ziankahn (Rtd.), Military Advisor to the President, Mr. Jeff Bilbo, Chairman, National Investment Commission, Mr. Nathaniel Kwabo, Director General of the Cabinet and Mr. Bedell Sandi, Special Envoy. Edited by Othello B. Garblah.