Liberia Economic Corridors GFPP

Republic of Liberia Ministry Of Public Works Liberia Economic Corridor (LECO) Project Project No. P513497 GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE

COUNTRY: Liberia

NAME OF PROJECT: Liberia Economic Corridor (LECO) Project

GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE

Grant No.: IDA-E7460

Project ID No. P518023

The Government of Liberia has received a Grant Facility for Project Preparation (GFPP) from the International Development Association (IDA), toward the preparation of the Liberia Economy Corridor Project (LECO) and intends to apply the proceeds thereof toward payments for specified Services in support of the preparation of the Liberia Economic Corridor Project through the procurement of Consultant Services, Surveys, Technical Studies, Environmental and Social Assessments, Engineering designs. The LECO project will include four components intended to transform Liberia’s priority transport corridors into catalysts for regional economic development: Backbone Regional Connectivity; Support to Value Chains and Rural Accessibility; Foundational Mining Sector Development; and Institutional Strengthening. The Components are as follows: Component 1: Backbone Regional Connectivity. This component will rehabilitate and upgrade the primary regional corridors that form the spine of Liberia's connectivity to the Mano River Union sub-region. It focuses on three strategic investments. First, it will finance the rehabilitation of the Southeastern Corridor, completing the missing link connecting Liberia to Côte d'Ivoire's east, which is a critical gap on the Dakar–Abidjan Trans-African Highway (TAH7). Second, it will upgrade the remaining section of the Coastal Corridor connecting Liberia to Côte d'Ivoire, complementing investments by the African Development Bank and the European Union on adjacent sections. Third, it will finance the Buchanan–Nimba Corridor, envisioned as Liberia's second inland spine linking the highest agricultural and mining areas to the Port of Buchanan. Component 2: Support to Value Chains and Rural Accessibility. This component will improve last-mile connectivity and market access infrastructure in priority agricultural production areas. It will finance the rehabilitation and upgrading of feeder networks connecting farming communities (where post-harvest losses are estimated at 20 to 40 percent of production value due to poor access) to primary corridors and markets. It will also finance value chain facilities in secondary cities, including commodity-specific processing facilities and market access infrastructure, designed to strengthen agribusiness development, and connect priority value chains (including rice, rubber and cocoa) to domestic and regional markets. Component 3: Foundational Mining Sector Development. This component will address the structural governance and data constraints that limit Liberia's ability to attract and sustain investment in the mining sector. It will finance legal and regulatory mining reforms to strengthen the framework governing mineral licensing, concession management, and compliance, reducing investment risks and improving the enabling environment for private participation. It will also finance the installation of a centralized geoscience database, establishing a transparent, accessible platform for mineral and geological data that will improve investor confidence, reduce exploration costs, and support the renegotiation of Mineral Development Agreements as major concessions come up for renewal from 2029 onward. Component 4: Institutional Strengthening: This component will finance the cross-cutting institutional reforms and capacity-building measures needed to sustain the project's investments and support the long-term development of Liberia's transport and mining sectors. It will support overall project management and coordination through the IIU. It will pilot tolling systems and axle-load control infrastructure along priority corridors — building on PPIAF-supported analytical work on Liberia's tolling and axle-load policy — and strengthen the National Road Fund's governance, revenue mobilization capacity, and institutional independence in line with the NRF's Five-Year Strategic Plan (2025–2030). Finally, the component will finance an MSc-level civil engineering program to address the critical shortage of qualified road engineers in Liberia, investing in the human capital pipeline needed for the long-term delivery and maintenance of transport infrastructure. Under the GFPP, the project will include the following specific activities: No. Description

Consultancy Services

1 Feasibility Study, Economic and Financial Analysis and the Conceptual Engineering Design of Buchanan–Nimba (Legacy) Corridor

2 Feasibility Studies for the feeder network

3 Consultancy for the Agro-Processing and Value Chain Preparatory Studies

4 Preliminary Studies for the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) for the mining sector

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING SERVICES

1 Preparation of the full suite of Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) instruments required prior to appraisal, including the ESCP, SEP, ESIAs, ESMPs, RAPs, ESMF, Resettlement Framework

2 International Social Consultant to oversee the ESF Instruments

3 International Environmental Consultant to oversee the ESF Instruments

4 Buchanan–Greenville coastal road ESF AfDB Documents Update and Modified Consultancy

5 Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) for feeder roads and Agro-Processing Facilities

6 Environmental Specialist for the PIU Support

7 Social Specialist for the PIU Support

Procurement of services under the GFPP, will be conducted through the procedures specified in the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, Procurement in Investment Project Financing, Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services dated February 2025 (“Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest, and is opened to all firms and Individuals from