• Parliament clears Ivanhoe Atlantic to operate the key Yekepa–Buchanan rail corridor
• Deal includes nearly $1 billion in fees and $800 million for rail and port upgrades
• Liberia aims to position the corridor as a regional logistics hub for mining and agriculture

The Liberian Parliament has approved, according to local press, the award of the Yekepa–Buchanan Port railway corridor concession to Ivanhoe Atlantic. The infrastructure is considered essential for the country’s mining industry, as well as for transporting iron ore from southeastern Guinea.

This marks a new step following an earlier agreement between the government and the company, after several years of rivalry between ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) and High Power Exploration (HPX), the parent company of Ivanhoe Atlantic, for control of the railway.

The agreement includes nearly $1 billion in fees for operating the network and about $800 million in investment for infrastructure at Buchanan Port and for expanding and modernizing the railway. According to authorities, the planned works will make it easier to transport goods other than minerals, including agricultural cargo and other merchandise bound for regional markets, as well as passengers.

Backed by U.S. investors, Ivanhoe Atlantic (formerly HPX) owns one of the world’s largest high-grade iron ore deposits in Guinea, the Nimba Iron Ore Deposit. The company plans to use the Yekepa–Buchanan corridor to export its ore. Liberia, through this model, seeks to leverage its favorable geographic position to become a subregional logistics hub for mining and industrial products.

Henoc Dossa