By Elbie Sebleh
BUCHANAN, G/BASSA CO.: Massive costal erosion caused due to rise in the sea level leading to flooding continues to threaten and hinder the operations of the Port of Buchanan, depriving the Liberian government of huge revenue in the tone of millions of United States Dollars.
In an effort to adequately address this challenge, over the weekend, a high-powered delegation from the office of the Managing Director of Liberia National Port Authority (NPA), Mr. Sekou H. Dukuly, concluded a preliminary assessment visitation at the port intended to ascertain first-hand experience and information regarding challenges confronting the Port of Buchanan.
The team was headed by Mr. Pewee Baysah, Executive Director, Public Relations.
At the Port of Buchanan, the team was taken around by the Chief for Operations of the Port, Col. Nathanial K. Zorgay.
During the team’s assessment, it discovered that there is a need for immediate intervention to relocate the administrative building of the Port, construct a costal defense System and to carry out expansion of the Port peer.
This measure will enable the facility to raise more revenues and mitigate flooding.
The team’s assessment further uncovered that the Port of Buchanan is fast disappearing and has the potential of denying government million in revenue generation due to low costal defense, which has overstayed its usefulness, thereby allowing erosion to come on show, stalling operations and damaging properties at the facility.
Following conclusion of the team’s assessment, the Managing Director of the Port of Buchanan, Mr. Jonathan Lambort Kaipay, expressed excitement and appreciation to the National Port Authority Managing Director, Mr. Sekou H. Dukuly for dispatching a team to conduct assessment of the Port to address the challenges confronting it.
Manager Kaipay disclosed that on May 21, 2024, they had terrible experience with the sea erosion which led to immediate halt of the operations of the Port for approximately two days.
According to him, the erosion lee to displacement of containers, relocation of cars, and other materials from inside to outside of the port, destroying electricity and causing overflooding of the entire peer and administrative building.
He said that Grand Bassa County as a whole and Central government are gradually losing the port and may eventually loss millions of United States Dollars in Revenue Generation if immediate action is not taken.
Making further recommendation aimed at addressing the problems, the Grand Bassa county former Senator urged that the National Port Authority and the government of Liberia to construct a stronger and well sophisticated Coastal Defense Wall to stop the erosion.
“We are appealing to our Manager, Mr. Sekou H. Dukuly, who has been doing well in lifting ports across the country and the government to construct a New Costal Defense Wall to address this challenge. We want the government to bring a technical team that will conduct a feasibility study to save the second largest port in Liberia,” he noted.
Mr. Kaipay further indicated that the Technical Team, hired by the NPA, government and partners will do the feasibility study and analysis and come up with project cost and timeline.
When questioned as to how much in terms of financial cost will be needed to construct the costal defense, he said that he can’t tell because he is not a technician but from his little experience in government, particularly at the Liberian Senate it will be little over one or two Million United States Dollars.
An act of the National 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.
