Two Int’l Port Operators Submit Bids for Modernization of NPA

MONROVIA – Efforts toward revitalizing and modernizing the operations and facilities of the National Port Authority (NPA) have gained momentum, with two reputable international port operators tendering bids for the reconstruction of the severely deteriorated 60-year-old general cargo pier.

This information was disclosed in a press release reaching this paper from the NPA yesterday.

The management of port operations is also an integral component of the reform process.

The bid opening exercise took place recently at the NPA. During the exercise, the Chairman of the National Investment Commission, Dr. Richard Tolbert, described the port reform investment, estimated at more than US$100 million, as very encouraging.

Tolbert said the reconstruction of the ports is critical to the Liberian economy as well as regional and international trade and commerce.

The NIC Boss, who also chairs the Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) on the Freeport of Monrovia Concession, said that the port had been in deplorable condition for too long, and commended the Port Sector Reform Secretariat (PSRS) for steering the reform process to this stage. He said owing to the present condition of the port, there was a need for a speedy and transparent implementation of the project.

One of the bidders, PM Terminals, is a global port operation company based in The Hague, The Netherlands. The company operates 50 ports around the world, nine of which are in Africa. The Dutch company has a great reputation in the United States of America, Europe and Asia, the release asserted.

The second bidder, the Ballore Group, is a French-based institution that operates in 42 African countries, boasting more than 50,000 employees around Africa. The group specializes in both port and terminal operations.

It can be recalled that in December 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Government of Liberia (GOL), the World Bank, the Government of the United States of America and the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for a public-private partnership arrangement to facilitate port infrastructure, improve operations and increase productivity of the Freeport of Monrovia with the aim of modernizing its aged facilities, and making its operations more efficient and effective.

The initiative is also in support of the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, and is expected to immensely benefit Liberians and the shipping community, the NPA dispatch concluded.