APM Terminals wins bid for 25-year concession in Liberia

APM TERMINALS (APMT), the port arm of Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk, has been declared the preferred bidder by the Liberian government to run a wharf complex at the Port of Monrovia under a 25 year concession.
Rehabilitation of the Marginal Wharf at the port is to make part of the concession agreement including operating Marine Services at an investment price of US$120 million, reports in the UK`s Transport Intelligence. The development is to begin immediately on quay wall construction with future instalment of a new berth and new equipment to increase yard handling for deep-draught vessels.
"Our aim is to improve the port infrastructure and create a much stronger economic engine for the national and regional market. Our team will work closely with the IMCC, Port Sector Reform Programme and the National Port Authority on the next steps of the process to ensure the transition is handled effectively," said APM Terminals chief executive Kim Fejfer.
The successful bid follows the terminal operator`s reach into west Africa and Angola`s rehabilitation of its Luanda Container Terminal II that it secured in summer 2008. The government of Angola approved a 20-year concession with APMT at an investment of $95 million according to a report in October 2009 by portstrategy.com
The Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) chairman Richard Tolbert spoke of his confidence in APM Terminals` implementation of the project once the concession agreement is sealed