MONROVIA — Liberia's push for a second Millennium Challenge Corporation compact now centers on three targets: new electricity transmission infrastructure, reforms to power sector governance and regulation, and changes to mining governance to attract private investment. Both sides aim to finish the compact's joint design by mid-2027.

The government has also said it plans to allocate US$1 million in its 2027 budget for an airborne geophysical survey of the Harper Quadrangle, one of Liberia's nine geological mapping units. The Liberia Compact Development Team said the commitment is subject to confirmation once the budget is approved.

The priorities emerged from two weeks of consultations between the Liberia Compact Development Team and the MCC, which concluded this week. LCDT National Coordinator Alieu Fuad Nyei and MCC Country Director for Liberia Kevin George led the mission. It met with lawmakers, government ministries, regulators, development partners, and the private sector, and concluded with an executive briefing for President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. The LCDT said Boakai reaffirmed his administration's full commitment to the compact's goals.

"The development of this compact is an opportunity to examine the practical challenges that have limited investment and economic growth in Liberia," Nyei said. "Our priority is to identify investments and reforms that respond to Liberia's needs, strengthen our institutions, and establish a foundation for lasting economic progress."

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George said reform would be central to the compact but that the MCC had not arrived with fixed demands.

"Reform will be central to the success of this compact, but MCC is not approaching these discussions with a predetermined reform agenda," George said. "Our priority at this stage is to listen, understand the challenges facing Liberia's electricity and mining sectors, and work with our Liberian partners to complete the joint design of the compact before the middle of 2027."

On electricity, the two sides are considering targeted investments in priority transmission lines to improve delivery, meet growing industrial demand, and open the sector to private investors. Alongside that, they are assessing legal, regulatory and institutional reforms to improve the sector's performance, transparency and accountability.

On mining, the focus is better geological information, stronger sector governance and simpler investment processes, so the country can make informed decisions about its mineral resources and attract what the LCDT called responsible private investment. The planned Harper Quadrangle survey is the main target area for a detailed mineral assessment in 2027.

The consultations will feed into an independent Options and Readiness Study that began about two weeks ago. The study will evaluate the country's institutional frameworks and present tailored reform pathways to the government in early January 2027. A legal and regulatory gap assessment of the mining sector recently wrapped up, and a workforce development mission is still assessing service providers' skills and capacity needs. Its findings will shape the training and capacity-building support offered under the compact.

The new compact would build on Liberia's first MCC compact, which invested US$257 million in electricity and roads, including rehabilitating the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant and supporting the setup of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The MCC is an independent US government agency. Its compacts are time-bound grants that pay for large infrastructure projects, policy reforms and economic modernization.