Liberia: MBH Power Limited Completes World Bank-funded Electricity Project

The energy group, MBH Power Limited, has reached a milestone with the successful completion of a World Bank-funded project known as the Liberia Accelerated Electricity Project Additional Financing (LACEEP AF).

MBH was contracted by the government in 2018, through the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), to implement the LACEEP AF project.

Jesse Z. Segbo, MBH Environment, Social Health and Safety Manager, who spoke on Thursday, October 20, at a well-attended closure party for staff, expressed gratitude to the government through LEC and all the engineers who helped to support the country’s energy transition.

Segbo said that MBH Power Limited also constructed 500 kilometers of the transmission line as well as installed 250 transformers.

“We also installed 1,500 streetlights, and we made those achievements under this project. Therefore, today we have come to celebrate all the milestones that MBH was able to achieve,” Segbo said. 

He further said that under the project, MBH Power Limited also erected 17,200 poles, both low voltage (LV) and medium voltage(MV) transformers.

On the distribution aspect, Segbo also stated that MBH covers a lot of communities, including Gardnersville, Barnesville, New Georgia, Clara Town, Caldwell, Virginia, Banjor, and as far as Bomi Highway, Klay, Tubmanburg in   Bomi County; Grand Cape Mount County Highway, Robertsport, and up to BO Waterside.

He added that the Citizens and residents in that part of the county are enjoying stable electricity. 

He said, under the LACEEP AF project, MBH Power Limited was able to carry on some major improvements or rehabilitation at some facilities, such as the Bushrod Island substation, construction of five power sub-stations, with locations in Paynesville, Gardnersville, Stockton Creek, Virginia and Klay in Bomi County.

Segbo maintained that under the watchful eyes of the MBH Power, contractors that were hired by the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) also completed transmission lines from Paynesville to Gardnersville; Gardnersville to Stockton Creek; Bushrod Island to Virginia, and from Virginia to Klay in Bomi County.

Segbo, who gave a brief overview of project activities and key contributors, commended the government, through LEC and all of their partners, for their continuous support and dedication in bringing the project to fruition.

Earlier in remarks, Rupesh Mahapatra, LACEEP AF Project Manager, also used the occasion to thank his team for successfully completing the project.

He said he thought it was not easy, but with the strong support from his engineers and with strong supervision from the LEC management, MBH was able to meet the deadline for the project.

“I remembered there was a time that we wanted to stop the project, but with the able assistance from LEC, they were still there working and to meet the target of the project,” Mahapatra said.

Giving the project closure formalities, LACEEP AF Project Coordinator, Jose Miguel, thanked his PIU team and partners for the successful completion of the project which he described as a milestone achievement for Liberians and the country at large.

He said though there were some challenges along the way; they were able to overcome said obstacles through the help and collaboration of the LEC, the World Bank and contractors who he said worked tirelessly during the implementation of the project.

Miguel added, “Today, we are happy because it was not easy from the beginning but, with the help of my team, contractors and even the sub-contractors, we were able to reach our goals and successfully implement this project and have now put enough smiles on the faces of Liberians.”

Also speaking, Aneesh Nair, MBH Project Manager, acknowledged the strong support from the engineers who work tirelessly to make sure that the project becomes successful.

“So, on behalf of the CEO of MBH and all those who were part of this project, including the LEC team, we want to say thank you and we hope that the government will count on us again.”

For his part, LEC Director for Planning and Engineering, Michael Zologon, praised MBH Power for the good job completed in Liberia’s energy sector.

“MBH, we want to say we are thankful to you,” Zologon said. There were many challenges, but you came through. One thing I remember about MBH is that even if it was not within their scope and we asked them to do something that met our technical standards, they would say yes [and] MBH will do it without asking for more money.”

Meanwhile, MBH is a total energy solutions company that provides excellent services to meet the growing demand of the power sector in emerging markets. It focuses on EPC solutions in Transmission and Distribution, Metering and Energy Audit, and Turnkey Solutions in Conventional and Non-Conventional Power Generation.

MBH Power Limited is said to have embarked on the development of a 300 MW Independent Power Producer project in Nigeria.