The growing number of ships arriving at the main port in Freetown is indicative of how the business climate has improved in Sierra Leone.

Trade is on the up and the country is once again starting to recover some of the ground it lost as a result of the conflict. The Port of Freetown is poised to take a larger slice of the improvement in regional maritime traffic. It deals primarily with manufactured goods, cement and agricultural produce, including large quantities of imported rice.

The Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) has made significant headway since the war in reducing turnaround times for vessels at the port, which has been noted by shipping companies. The harbour is the world’s third largest, a natural place for ships to dock quickly and easily, and a magnet for shipping lines seeking safe berth in west Africa.
Captain P Kemokai, General Manager of the SLPA, says that the harbour now receives at least an average of six large container vessels a week, the target for 2002. “We have been able to meet this and even surpassed it from time to time,” he says. “This is encouraging – we projected six and got eight.”

It illustrates the return of confidence in both the port and the country. International donor funding has enabled the SLPA to rehabilitate and improve vital infrastructure. Internally generated funds have also enabled the acquisition of additional cargo handling equipment, which has helped to reduce turnaround times for vessels dramatically.

Captain Kemokai says the SLPA is now winning customers over through the prompt dispatch of vessels, the provision of maximum security for both ships and goods, and competitive charges compared with other ports in the sub-region. There are ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, such as to raise the number of cargo movements to at least 20 per hour.

“To compete with other ports we would need additional cargo handling equipment to ensure that, for instance, instead of three moves per hour, which we were doing immediately after the crisis, we could achieve something like 20 moves per hour. Even now, at 15 moves per hour, container vessels spend less than 24 hours in the port, which is encouraging.”

Ambitious projects will develop the port. SLPA has further plans to expand the dock area to accommodate even larger vessels and to widen the container stacking area. It has forged links with other ports in the region from the Gambia, Nigeria and Ghana. “We want to develop the port into a major container transshipment terminal because, as far as depth is concerned, we do not have a problem.”

Captain Kemokai is keen to entice foreign investors to help develop the country’s maritime sector, although donor funding will continue to play a pivotal role. There is a special niche for the British business community. “The lighthouse we have now is very old and dates back to the time when the British were here,” he says. “That is one area where we want to appeal to them to come in with aid and new development.”