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ADNews-Monrovia, Liberia: After President Joseph Nyuma Boakai rejected ArcelorMittal Liberia’s revised Mineral Development Agreement, the company has intensified its campaign for legislative ratification. But mounting evidence suggests the proposal could firmly entrench the steel giant’s dominance over one of Liberia’s most strategic infrastructure assets, the Yekepa–Buchanan rail corridor, for decades.
At the center of the controversy are the Rail Standards Operating Principles, or RSOPs, a technical and governance framework covering access fees, scheduling, safety protocols and system upgrades. In ArcelorMittal’s proposed MDA, these rules are embedded directly into the contract. President Boakai has firmly opposed that approach, insisting that rail governance must be placed under an independent operator to ensure transparency, neutrality and fair competition.
If ratified as drafted, analysts warn, the RSOPs would embed three structural risks to Liberia’s sovereignty and long-term economic development.
Experts say the RSOPs risk creating what anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness once described as a “state within a state,” effectively cementing ArcelorMittal’s monopoly over the rail system. Because future changes to the RSOPs would require legislative approval, Liberia could be locked into a governance model with little room to establish a National Rail Authority capable of regulating all operators.
Concerns are amplified by ArcelorMittal’s two-decade history in Liberia, including repeated fines for environmental damage; failure to deliver key community infrastructure projects in Nimba, Bong and Grand Bassa counties; and limited transparency around in-country profits and tax payments. The company has also faced criticism for hiring foreign workers with limited project knowledge instead of qualified Liberians. Recurring safety issues, including derailments, have further eroded public trust.
Analysts say several operational and financial thresholds in the RSOPs would give ArcelorMittal a structural advantage over future competitors.
A key sticking point is the requirement that any new user demonstrate the ability to transport 5 million tonnes per annum before accessing the corridor. Critics say the benchmark is arbitrary and forces would-be entrants to make massive investments without guaranteed access. The high upfront capital demands make it significantly harder for new mining ventures to secure financing, effectively freezing out potential new users.
The proposed rules also exempt ArcelorMittal from some feasibility study requirements that other users must undergo, giving the company a faster pathway to expansion.
The RSOPs would also allow ArcelorMittal to influence, or impede, new users’ access to the corridor. Under the draft framework, ArcelorMittal’s own expansion timeline determines when additional companies may join the rail system. Analysts warn this gives the company the ability to delay other users simply by slowing its own investments or upgrades.
The rules would also allow ArcelorMittal to independently defer system improvements on grounds of “operational necessity,” granting it broad discretion to postpone upgrades essential for a multi-user system.
Additionally, the company would hold significant influence within the Joint Management Committee responsible for corridor oversight, a role the Boakai administration says should belong to an independent operator. Because committee decisions require a quorum, critics warn that ArcelorMittal could effectively veto decisions by withholding participation to block competitor projects.
As legislative debate intensifies, analysts say the stakes for Liberia could not be higher. The country’s rail and port corridors are among its most valuable national assets, and decisions made today will shape its economic trajectory for generations.
Keeping the RSOPs inside ArcelorMittal’s revised MDA, critics argue, would guarantee the company long-term control of the Yekepa–Buchanan railway. Liberia’s vision of an open, competitive and transparent rail system, they say, hinges on ensuring that such strategic infrastructure serves national interests, encouraging fair competition, attracting new investment and safeguarding economic sovereignty.
Only by doing so, they contend, can Liberia maintain control of its economic future.
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