The United States will be providing a grant of USD500,000 to help Liberia jumpstart a feasibility study on the Mount Coffee hydro-electric power plant, which will be positioned outside Monrovia. According to information minister Lawrence Bropleh, the government will lobby for the funding of the plant’s reconstruction once the study is finished, and that Norway has announced it support for the construction of small hydro-electric plants throughout the West African country. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will also proceed down the same vein, and has agreed to build 12 more mini hydro-electric plants in various areas in the country. Liberia is presently without a national power grid, with most of the electricity being generated at homes and businesses by privately-owned generators. (U.S. Gives Govt $500,000 for Hydro Plant Feasibility Studies/The News-Monrovia)