Monrovia — APM Terminals Liberia has commissioned a newly refurbished terminal yard at a brief ceremony with staff and stakeholders of the company. This is part of reforms to improve efficiency and operations at the Free Port of Monrovia.
Speaking as Guest of Honour at the commissioning event, Managing Director of the National Port Authority Hon. Bill Twehway commended APM Terminals Liberia for their continuous investment in Port infrastructure and underlined the importance of the project.
“On behalf of the President and Government of Liberia, I wish to congratulate APM Terminals in a special way for such a viable project. This commissioning today marks another major milestone in the contemporary life of the shipping industry in Liberia. The importance of a roll-on roll-off yard in any seaport cannot be over-emphasized. This refurbished RORO yard will serve as a significant booster to productivity” Mr. Twehway remarked.
Managing Director of the company, Jonathan Graham said the newly developed RORO yard is a further statement of the company’s commitment to continuously transform the Free Port of Monrovia into a more efficient Port capable of supporting the increasing volumes of trade at the Port.
“In the last quarter, we commissioned our $1.5 million investment into additional lifting equipment. Today we are commissioning our newly developed yard. These are all important steps we are taking and will continue to take in our new transformation agenda. Added to our digitization drive, we are continuously putting in place the needed systems and infrastructure to elevate the Free Port of Monrovia to the very highest standards. Thus supporting the increasingly growing Liberian economy” Mr. Graham remarked.
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The new RORO yard is strategically directed at increasing the capacity for vehicle importation and the operations of the key mining and heavy equipment industry in Liberia.
Key beneficiaries of this project will be Grimaldi Line represented by Bolloré Liberia who is the primary RORO operator in the country.
Speaking from a commercial perspective, the company’s Commercial Manager Thomas Moore emphasized that with this expanded capacity APM Terminals Liberia will positively impact revenue growth not just for the customers and port users but also for the government and the Terminal as well.
The company said an additional US$3m has been earmarked for additional yard development, which will be spread over a period of three years. It is expected that this will mitigate future capacity challenges and improve operational efficiency.
APM Terminals Liberia operates a state-of-the-art multi-purpose port in the Free Port of Monrovia.
The Terminal now supports more than 2,500 direct and contracted employment opportunities.
