The China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group (CRBG) has conducted a site assessment at Greenville, a town about 240km southeast of Monrovia, reports Liberia’s Daily Observer.

The population of Greenville is only about 16,000, but its port is the country’s third largest.

It was destroyed during the Second Liberian civil war, fought between 1999 and 2003, and has never been fully restored.

It has two quays, 70m and 180m long, and a water depth of 6m – sufficient for the export of timber on small cargo ships, but well short of the 13.7m required for a “deepwater” designation, required to handle Post-Panamax container ships.

Scott Liu, the deputy general manager of the CRBG, expressed enthusiasm about the investment potential of Greenville and said he looked forward to collaborating with the National Port Authority of Liberia to establish a roadmap for investments.

Speaking after his assessment on Monday, he said: “We are excited over the progress we see here and this has encouraged us to see how to invest in the port.”

Sylvia Tarley, the director of the port, said expansion would aim to restore the port and its infrastructure to pre-war condition.

She said it would boost trade and tourism and become Liberia’s largest port by 2030.

“Over the next six years, our vision for the port of Greenville is to expand it, ensure that it becomes a transshipment centre where bigger ships will birth and supplies be distributed to smaller ports in Liberia.

“We also envision that portion of the port will be an industrial park where companies or manufacturers will acquire land to produce resources that will contribute to the economy of Liberia.”

The project would fall under the rubric of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, launched by last month.

This is a five-year plan, to begin in 2025, which aims to develop the public sector, and the economies of each of Liberia’s 15 counties.