The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah, has brought attraction to Maryland County with enormous development projects to bring that far southeastern county on par with Montserrado County and parts adjacent.
The Port of Harper, smallest of the four major ports of Liberia, has been earmarked for transformation, with President Weah breaking ground for the construction of a brand new multipurpose office complex and a petroleum storage facility there.
The port was established in 1959 mainly for the exportation of oil palm, rubber and timber, while at the same time importing machinery, building materials, petroleum products and other consumable goods to serve the people of southeastern Liberia. However, as a result of the civil crisis, these activities are no longer effective. The port is said to be solely engaged in container movement and other general cargo handling for humanitarian services.
The Port of Harper is virtually dormant, with limited activities, and is occupied with dilapidated buildings and old containers placed in the open field. The port has draft limitation and needs dredging. It has no storage facility and limited berthing facilities and, therefore, can only accommodate vessels with maximum draft of 5.5m. According to information gathered by the Hot Pepper, there is no multipurpose vessel, thereby leading to no tug and pilot services there.
Situated near the border between Liberia and Ivory Coast, the port is operated by the National Port Authority (NPA) and was partly used by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Since UNMIL departed, activities are almost non-existent there.
The President’s project at the port, which is seen by many as giving rebirth to economic activities in Maryland County, will help address the age-old constraints associated with the supply of petrol products to southeastern counties: Maryland, River Gee, Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, as well as neighboring border cities.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, and witnessed by a number of stakeholders, including the Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA), Bill Tweahway, Managing Director of the Port of Harper, William Wallace, officials of Express Oil Importation Liberia Incorporated and other officials of government, as President Weah performed the official groundbreaking ceremony.
The refurbishment of the Port of Harper is a private-public partnership arrangement between the Government of Liberia (GOL) and a Liberian-owned company, Express Oil Importation Liberia Incorporated.
In Remarks, President Weah pledged his administration’s fullest support to finance the dredging of the port, noting that the viability of the nation’s economy is a flourishing hub for the betterment of the country.
NPA’s Managing Director, Bill Twehway, also described the project as a milestone development for the Port of Harper, following years of poor infrastructure imaging and inactive operations. He said the project is in keeping with government’s vision to refurbish and operationalize all the ports, in order to ensure super economic activities throughout the country.
Also speaking, Harper Port Director, William Wallace, and Leon Nynetu, Express Oil Importation Liberia, said the project will create jobs, reduce commodity prices and ease unwanted hardship for commuters, especially during the rainy season. Wallace disclosed that a plan is underway for Golden Veroleum to construct a giant-sized palm oil storage facility at the port. This, he said, will necessitate the need for dredging and other capital projects at the port.