Bali Island Project Alive, India Commits US$ 144m As Initial Contribution
By Ibrahim A. Sherif
The Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), Lenn Eugene Nagbe, has assured Liberians that the Bali Island project is still alive.
The project will see the construction of a 4,000-capacity multi-purpose conference hall project which is expected to be named after iconic leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi.
According to the official spokesman of the Government of Liberia, the Indian Government has made an initial commitment to contribute US$144 million toward the implementation of the project.
Nagbe made the disclosure Friday on a local radio talk show in Monrovia where he indicated that the feasibility study for construction of the conference hall has been completed, adding that actual work will commence soon.
President Weah’s undertaking comes in a wake of the lack of spacious conference halls in and around Liberia to host around 4,000 guests at one time.
The gigantic conference hall environment is expected to contain skyscrapers, office space, shopping malls, banks, insurance companies and night clubs, amongst others.
Furthermore, the MICAT boss revealed that the coastal highway project is also in the making, citing that the government is at the stage of soliciting funds for the project.
Meanwhile, Minister Nagbe has refuted allegations from some media entities suggesting that Liberia is at the brink of war, noting, “Liberia is not going back to war. We are making progress and moving forward.”
According to Nagbe, the ingredients of war does not exist in Liberia, noting that the ingredient of peace, which is freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly that, according to him, supersedes the negative.
He added that the government is currently engaging people at various levels, including political leaders, civil society organizations, in order to constitute a national dialogue aimed at addressing the downward trend of the economy.
“We have been trying to build general consensus for this national dialogue for the economy. There is a lot of work ongoing in the preparation of a national dialogue where all Liberians will come together, particularly those from the other side, who have ideas in reversing the trend of the economy,” Nagbe emphasized.
Nagbe reemphasized President Weah’s position of sustaining the peace of Liberia, noting, “Every Liberian has vested interest, but they should assure that the peace and security of our country remain at the top of everyone’s agenda.”
Nagbe highlighted the importance of community peace messages which, according to him, is cardinal to the sustainability of the peace in Liberia.
