The Managing Director of the National Port Authority (NPA) Sekou A. M Dukuly at the head of a five-man delegation visited the Tanger Med Port and Marsa Maroc in Morocco to establish bilateral relationship for Liberia’s ports and manpower development at the NPA.
In separate high-level meetings with Chief Executives of Tanger Med Port Authority and Marsa Maroc (the main operator of ports in Morocco), the NPA boss extended warmest greetings from his Excellency President Joseph Boakai and expressed his gratitude to executives of Tanger Med Port and Marsa Marco for affording his delegation the opportunity to travel to their ports aimed at exploring possibilities for the development of the National Port Authority.
Dukuly highlighted amongst many things, the development of the NPA Master Plan, which will cover capacity building in the areas of marine services, ports and harbors, security, administrative and pilots as well as the need to digitize the NPA to become number one in the MRU basin.
He said the NPA is in dying need of both manpower and ports development at its four ports across Liberia. Dukuly said the NPA needs support in several areas including the installation of navigation aids that will enable ships to duck quickly at the port, increasing its normal operating time, 24 hours around the clock, which brings it on par, with respect to berthing and unberthing, with other ports in the region and the world at large.
Speaking on behalf of executives of Tanger Med Port, Port and Marine Project Director, Amine Malti, said his team was more than happy and willing to establish bilateral relationship between the National Port Authority and Tanger Med Port aimed at providing support and collaboration.
Mr. Malti said the Port of Tanger Med is Morocco’s major trade hub, ranked 19th amongst the largest ports worldwide, and is also the third most efficient container Port in the world, the first efficient African and Arab Port. According to Malti, Tanger Med is ranked the 6th in the global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), making it the most efficient Port in Europe and North Africa.
Director Malti disclosed that Tanger Med Group operates and develop ports, logistics and industrial platforms across Africa and the world at large, while serving as planner and developer of more than 3,000 hectares of economic activity zones which host more than 1,300 companies and generate a business volume of 15.5 billion Dollars in the automotive, aeronautics textile, agribusiness and logistics sectors.
The Tanger Med Port executive assured the Liberian delegation that the entity will do all it can to provide support to the National Port Authority as it remains firmly focused on the future, ready to face new challenges and strengthen its position as a major logistics hub in Morocco and the Euro-Mediterranean region. While at Marsa Maroc, Managing Director Dukuly also called for partnership and collaboration in the areas of operating port terminals, technology, digitization and capacity building.
Mr. Dukuly said the NPA is at its low capacity in terms of operation, and in order to continue to play its role as the gateway to the Liberian economy, there is a need for total support nationally and internationally.
For his part, the Development and Strategy Director of Marsa Maroc Group Rada Moukhli said his institution is the national leader in operating port terminals, with a significant presence in the main commercial port of Morocco. Mr. Moukhli said Marsa Maroc Group which operates over 12 ports in Morocco is open to working with the National Port Authority in making it one of the best ports in the MRU region.
He said the initiative to work with the NPA is a national call which cannot be overlooked. At the end of the visits, NPA Managing Director Dukuly extended official invitations to Tanger Med Port and Marsa Maroc to come to Liberia for a technical visit of the National Port Authority.
