Sea Erosion Threatens Buchanan Port -As NPA Manager Concludes Preliminary Assessment By: Yassah J Wright

Massive costal erosion caused due to rise within the sea level leading to flooding and sea erosion continued to threatened and hinder the operation of the Port of Buchanan, depriving the Liberian government of huge revenue in the tone of millions United States Dollars.  In an effort to adequately address this challenge, over the weekend, a high-power delegations from the office of the Managing Director/Executive Director of the Liberia National Port Authority (NPA), Mr. Sekou H. Dukuly concluded a preliminary assessment visitation at the port intended to assert in first-hand experienced and information regarding challenges confronting the Port of Buchanan.  The team was headed by Pewee Baysah, Executive Director, Public Relations, at the Port of Buchanan, the team was taken around by the Chief for Operation of the Port, Col. Nathenial K. Zorgay.  During the team assessment, it discovered that there is an immediate intervention to relocate the administrative building of the Port, construct a costal defense and expansion of the Port peer to enable the facility raise more revenue and mitigate the flooding erosion.  The team 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 it usefulness thereby allowing erosion to come on show, stalling operation and damaging properties at the facility. Following conclusions of the team 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. Dukuly for dispatching team to conduct assessment of the Port to immediately address the challenges comforting them.  Narrating the experienced and challenge with the sea erosion, Manager Kaipay, disclosed that on May 21, 2024 they had terrible experienced with the sea erosion which lead to immediate halt of operation of the Port for approximately two days. According to him, the erosion lead to displacement of containers, relocation of cars and others objects from inside to outside the port, destruction of electricity and over flooding of the entire peer and administrative building which halted activities. He said that Grand Bassa County and government is gradually loosing the port and may eventually loss million of United States Dollars in Revenue Generation and Collection at the hand of the sea erosion if immediate action is not taken.  Now, providing recommendation to address the issue, the former Grand Bassa county senator urged that the National Port Authority and the government of Liberia to construct a more stronger and well sophisticated costal defense wall to stop the erosion. ” We are appealing to our Manger, 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 with the project cost and timeline, but, now it’s urgent. 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 experienced in government, particularly at the Liberian senate it will be little over one or two Million United States Dollars.