BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – Grand Bassa’s Superintendent Janjay Baikpeh held a press conference at his office on Monday where he announced that the county would soon benefit from close to US$20 million in investment that will provide jobs for Liberians and construct numerous housing units.

Baikpeh recently returned from the U.S., where he attended the 28^th National Convention of the United Bassa Organizations in the Americas. During the trip, the superintendent said he also met several investors who expressed interest in investing in the county.

While abroad, Baikpeh said he met with the Liberian General Processing Corporation Incorporated, a subsidiary of an American company based in the state of Texas. He said the company has agreed to invest in Grand Bassa’s second district.

Baikpeh said the investors had earlier visited Grand Bassa and saw that the county was suitable for the kind of investment they wanted to carry out.

The superintendent said the company wants to build housing units in the second electoral district.

“They are serious. The investment package is huge – they are talking about close to US$20 million,” he said. “They have started processing their own documents with the National Investment Commission and the Liberian Business Registry, and we are in constant conversation with them.”

He said another company, the Auslew Group of Companies, had already completed an assessment to build a plywood factory. The evaluation was done in collaboration with the county administration to show the investors the investment potential of the county.

The company completed the assessment while Baikpeh was in the U.S., with guidance from the assistant superintendent for development, Flee Glay. As a result of the assessment, the company agreed to invest in the county.

Baikpeh added that a Belgium-based company, Power Solution Electrical Corporation, had also agreed to invest in the county to provide electricity supply in the county at an affordable price.

He noted that the company’s investment, if it comes to fruition, would encourage more businesses to operate in the county, as he said the lack of affordable electricity in the county cost companies a lot of money in fuel.

“As I speak to you now, they [employees of the company] are in the rain looking for possible places to build the plant to provide electricity to the people of Bassa that will be paid for at an affordable price for our people,” Baikpeh added.

Baikpeh described the approach his administration was taking to attract investors to the county: “We cannot sit, and it happens. We have to wake up for it to happen. We have to go for it, for it to happen. We have to knock the doors for people, for these things to happen in our county.”

He called for the involvement of all citizens in making Grand Bassa a more attractive place for investment. He encouraged the media to report on the positives of the county and for the people to work to keep the county safe and calm.

Baikpeh has vowed to improve the economic conditions of the county through negotiations with business tycoons and investors. He said the fact that companies are showing interest in the county is a clear indication that the county is open to all development partners and investors.

Besides luring investors into Grand Bassa, Baikpeh said his trip to the U.S. enabled a donation of two ambulances from the mayor of Trenton, a city in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He also said he had made arrangements for a student exchange program.

Featured photo by Sampson David