—As Gov’t Makes Additional Funding for Port Dragging
IPNEWS: The Public Affairs Manager of the National Port Authority (NPA) Jusu Kamara has disclosed that Liberia has the best environment for Port’s clearing compare to other African nations.
Speaking during a live interview on the ok-fm afternoon conversation, Kamara boastfully stated that Liberia remains the best nation for cargo clearing and charges and urge business people to continue using the Freeport of Monrovia.
Despite the challenges confronting the Port, the management is doing everything possible to get them resolved as soon as possible, ‘Jusu Kamara stated.’
He also called on the government of Liberia to make resources available to have the Port dredge as he believes it is so expensive, costing over US$25 million and that only the national government as a whole can get it done.
He also said, business people sometimes are their own problems, they will keep their containers in the port and when it gets into storage incurring financial excesses then they abandoned them, sometimes leading to having the containers space jammed and also leading to management carrying out auctions.
Meanwhile, the Government of Liberia has approved a US$25 million financing package to immediately dredge the Freeport of Monrovia, aiming to resolve severe vessel congestion and accelerate cargo clearance ahead of the Christmas holiday season.
Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan announced the approval on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, following discussions with National Port Authority (NPA) Managing Director Sekou A. M. Dukuly.
Minister Ngafuan directly addressed importers—particularly merchants bringing in goods from China—assuring them that the intervention will ease bottlenecks so their shipments can dock before Christmas.
According to the Ministry of Information, the NPA and Finance Ministry reached an agreement with Channel Harbour Engineering Company to dredge the navigation channel, with physical operations expected to begin within two weeks.
Background & Complementary Port Measures
The financing package follows recent protests by local business groups, including the China Business Women of Liberia, over prolonged shipping delays and port charges. Alongside the dredging project, port authorities and operator APM Terminals have rolled out immediate operational changes:
All three berths at the Freeport have been reopened after safety inspections, and one crane is being deployed per vessel so two ships can discharge cargo simultaneously.
Authorities designated an extra storage yard for empty containers and authorized major importers to move containers directly from vessels to off-port warehouses.
A major shipping line has agreed to introduce direct shipments to Liberia rather than routing cargo through neighboring regional ports.
