MONROVIA – Volumes of cargo passing through the port of Monrovia doubled last year after work to expand the terminal led to a jump in the number of ships docking there, the port's manager told Reuters.
The port was managed by APM Terminals, a division of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, which had invested $50-million in improving the site since it entered into an agreement with the government in 2010, said manager Matilda Parker.
The rapid increase in activity at the port underscored how Liberia had recovered in the decade since a 14-year on-off civil war ended in 2003. The expansion of iron-ore mining was due to generate a further jump in port traffic.
Parker said the dredging of the port and expansion of terminal had lured in more ships, boosting revenue last year by 52% to $26-million.
Volumes of cargo more than doubled in 2012 to 4.73-million tonnes from 2.32-million tonnes in 2011, Parker said.
APM was due to manage the port for the next 25 years.
ArcelorMittal, the world's top steel maker, was currently shipping iron-ore out of the eastern port of Buchanan.
But mining by China Union and Sesa Goa would see iron-ore pass through the port of Monrovia this year.