For 16 years the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia worked out of two run-down rented buildings, paying US$72,000 a year and owning nothing. On Thursday, July 16, 2026, it got a building of its own.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai dedicated the agency’s new headquarters at Mamba Point in Monrovia, at a ceremony themed “From Tenant to Ownership.” Lawmakers, government officials and civil society groups attended. The New Dawn reported that Boakai used the occasion to say Liberia welcomes investment and economic growth only when they protect the country’s environment, communities and natural resources.
Economic advancement, he said, must not come at the expense of forests, wetlands, rivers and coastlines that future generations will also need. He called the building a testament to good governance, responsible environmental stewardship, scientific progress and the protection of public health.
From rent to ownership
EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo laid out the numbers. After the two old buildings, the agency moved to another Mamba Point property at US$85,000 a year in rent. A decade of such payments, he said, would have topped US$1 million with nothing to show for it.
The new 1.8-acre compound cost about US$800,000, including taxes and fees. Its appraised value is US$1.3 million. In his words as reported, a recurring expense became a government asset.
The site has 80 offices, three conference rooms, four reception areas and 24 bathrooms. It also holds a GIS lab, a library, a warehouse, a generator house and a secured perimeter. A 60-kilowatt solar system supplies the power.
The laboratory includes a smart conference room, technical offices, workstations and areas for radiation safety, water quality and instrumental analysis.
A scarce piece of equipment
Boakai also commissioned an advanced Elemental Analyzer for the laboratory. Yarkpawolo said the unit, worth about €100,000, was the only one the International Atomic Energy Agency program allocated to West Africa, and Liberia won it on the strength of its proposal and national impact.
He said it will support research on soil fertility, agriculture, climate change and environmental contamination, and will serve universities and young Liberian scientists.
