A delegation from Nectar Sierra Leone Bulk Terminal (NSBT) presented a project proposal for the expansion of the Sierra Leone port to President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma at State House.

Beckett Rankine have been working with NSBT on these plans that will see the development of Berths 1 and 2 at Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Freetown to handle increased volumes of bulk and breakbulk cargoes.

NSBT has been operating in Sierra Leone for two years and has invested in new port handling equipment including a crane, grabs and additional bagging equipment. Other investments have included an additional admin building with IT equipment and terminal management system as well as rehabilitation of existing buildings and warehousing. This has provided support both for Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the local community with 95% of the current employees being Sierra Leoneans. The new project will provide an additional new training centre, adult literacy classes and progression planning.

A High Resolution Multi Beam Echo Survey (HRMBES) of the site has been carried out to produce a scan of the quay wall to determine its depth and condition. Rehabilitation and deepening of the berth are now being proposed. NSBT’s future vision for the port includes ease of shipment, competitiveness, viability and profitability of the port facilities with a target of attracting greater international traffic. Capital expenditure is likely to be approximately USD$18 million to USD$22 million.

President Koroma thanked Nectar Group for the presentation and emphasized the need for Sierra Leone to realise the full potentials of the port. He referred to the expansion of the port as a transformation programme which government is fully supportive of and ensure it is well implemented in the interest of the country. “We have a great and huge potential in transhipment but we need to have the right partnership and right programmes in place,” he said.

See: https://snradio.net/nectar-sierra-leone-bulk-terminal-presents-project-proposal-to-president-koroma/