Establishment
An act of Legislature established the National Port Authority in 1967 (amended in 1970) as a state-owned enterprise to manage, plan and develop all ports in Liberia. The Authority manages four ports, namely, the Freeport of Monrovia, the Port of Buchanan, the Port of Greenville and the Port of Harper.
The Freeport of Monrovia is the largest in the Authority's Network. The United States Military built the port during World War II for strategic purposes. It handles most of the country's imported cargoes. Two breakwaters, 2,359m and 2,200m long, protect the harbour, enclosing a basin of 300 hectares of protected water. The general cargo berth, (the main pier), consists of an opened piled, 610m long by 11m wide marginal wharf with a reinforced concrete deck. The main wharf serves 2nd and 3rd generation coastal and mainline vessel.
The Port of Buchanan is located 170miles South-east of Monrovia. The Liberia-American Swedish Company (LAMCO), a joint venture company, constructed the port in 1960 for the export of iron ore deposits of the Nimba Range. Two break waters, 1,890m and 590m long to protect the harbour. Inside the basin, a 225m long ore-loading quay is located to the deeper section of the harbour basin with a water depth of 12.95m below chart datum. Adjacent to the loading quay, a waiting berth for ore carrier is available. On the inner side of the secondary breakwater, a commercial quay 334m long is located with an available water depth of 10.15m below chart datum. The access channel to the port provides ship a water depth of 14.95m below chart datum and a channel width between the breakwaters of 210m.
The Port of Greenville is also located in the South-eastern region of the country, Sinoe County, about 421 miles from the Freeport of Monrovia. A 400m long breakwater protects the harbour. There are two quays (70m and 180m long respectively) on the inner side of the breakwater for berthing facilities, with an existing water depth of 6m below chart datum. The port was rehabilatated in the early eighties with loan from the German Development Fund. The port functions mainly as an outlet for the timber industry.
The Port of Harper is situated in the South-eastern region of Liberia, Maryland County, near the border with the Ivory Coast, about 476 miles from the Freeport of Monrovia. The Port was constructed in 1959, on the rocky Russwurn Island, by connecting the island to the mainland with a causeway and by constructing a 150m long breakwater off the Russwurn Island. A 100m long reinforced concrete pier with an available water depth of 5.50m provides berthing facilities. The port serves the timber industry of the South-eastern hinterland.
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