APMT Liberia on track

The wharf was opened this week by the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who offered praise for the successful partnership between the West African nation and APM Terminals as she dedicated the newly completed 600m quay.

In October 2010 APM Terminals won the 25 year concession for the operation of Liberia’s Port of Monrovia along with an investment bill of $120m over the term.

The deal was notable as it marked the first 100% APM Terminals-owned terminal in Africa, described as a “big milestone” for the company.

The Liberian government decided to privatise the port to meet the urgent need for improvements in infrastructure to allow it to cater for the deepsea container trades.

A three-year deadline for the completion of the new wharf was stipulated in the Monrovia concession agreement, which was concluded on the Build-Operate-Transfer model.

Soren Jakobsen, head of project implementation, APM Terminals, said: “It was a tight three-year deadline, and we are very proud to stand here with this milestone met ahead of schedule so that we can move seamlessly into the next stages of the port modernisation project.”

Going forward, new infrastructure investments at the 17 hectare (42 acre) concession site will include roadway reconstruction, yard paving, new offices and gates and cargo handling technology to increase capacity and efficiency, and improve safety standards and performance.

The operator says it will also invest an additional $25m beyond what is required in the concession agreement to upgrade the container yard, buildings, gates and safety activities.