Chinese Government provides USD 10 million grant for Phase IV of China-Aided LBS Technical Cooperation Project for the Liberia Broadcasting System (Linked to Project ID#30313)

In September 2018, the Chinese Government provided a $10 million grant to the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) for the China-Aided LBS Technical Cooperation Project, following President Weah’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping at the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).According to Chinese Ambassador to Liberia, Fu Jijun, at the handover event, the goal of the project was to ‘promote and propagate Liberia’s policy agenda across the nation.’ The project was implemented by China Building Technology Group Co. Ltd. While the Ebola outbreak provided an obstacle for the construction team, the project was ultimately completed in two phases. The central control point of the LBS is in Monrovia. However, there are relay stations in six other counties—Bomi, Lofa, Grand Bassa, Maryland, Margibi, and Grand Gedeh—out of fifteen political sub-divisions of Liberia. One goal of the project was to construct modern studios, some of which will be used for commercial purposes to free up airtime and development programs. The project had been in the works since 2016, with the planned implementation date being January 1, 2016 and the planned completion date being December 31, 2018. However, funding was not secured until 2018, and the completion date did not come until June 2019. On June 18, 2019, the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the People’s Republic of China participated in a project handover ceremony. Both sides of the agreement confirmed that they had completed their commitments under an agreement previously stipulated in an ‘Exchange of Notes’. Then, on October 14, 2020, Chinese Ambassador to Liberia H.E. Mr. Ren Yisheng attended the Official Turning Over of the Mantle of Authority of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) to Liberia’s new Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT). The project represented the fourth phase of a Chinese technical assistance program to support the Liberia Broadcasting System.

Additional details

1. Project ID#30313 captures the first phase of the project. While this project is the fourth phase of continued technical assistance from China to the LBS, funding was independently provided and committed for this project in 2018. 2. Although this project is known as Phase IV of the ‘China-Aided LBS Technical Cooperation Project’, it was financed and created independently of past ETCAs and projects. The project was named a Phase IV project to refer to it as the fourth installment of Chinese technical assistance to LBS. As a result, the $10 million grant used to fund this project did not come out of past ETCAs, such as the one captured via Project ID#30738.

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

9