BY Washington Tumay Watson
Liberia-Commissioner General of the Liberia Maritime Authority is thinking big and outside the box when it comes to where he wants the government needs to place its focus in order to boost economic growth and leverage employment opportunities for Liberians.
Cllr Neto Zarzar Lighe, Sr. is of the conviction that establishing what he calls a dry dock in the country will serve the best interest of the country, in terms of creating employment opportunities for Liberians and most importantly repositioning the economy.
In order to realize such a milestone and considering the massiveness of the task, Cllr. Lighe has expressed the need for the Liberian Government to partner with investors, emphasizing that such investment will create job opportunities for many Liberians and provide augment the country’s revenue strength.
A dry dock is a structure used to build, repair, and maintain ships, boats, and other watercraft. It is a rectangular basin with a removable wall or gate that allows it to be filled or emptied with water.
Research shows that dry docks place vessels in a dry environment so that they can be inspected, cleaned, repaired, or built.
Speaking on Ok FM Tuesday, Cllr. Lighe believes constructing a dry dock depends on to what extent the government will want such a facility, which he likened to building a port that could cost the government five or ten million dollars, among others.
The LMA boss made it clear that a team at the institution is in the process of weighing and scaling all the possibilities, but there is no any design or diagram to the effect.
Cllr. Lighe further disclosed that two institutions which he did not name have expressed interest in such investment, but emphasized that the government does not want a short-change situation.
“Due to such situation, we have engaged some experts in the maritime sector to do a feasibility study to put us in the position to engage partners to have such a dry dock built in Liberia,” Cllr. Lighe asserted.
“The creation of the dry dock in Liberia is important for the maritime sector; it will provide more employment opportunities depending on the investment that the country will put in, especially if the dry dock is large and able to employ thousands of Liberians,” he added.
The Maritime Commissioner General also stated that such facility will help vessels docking in Liberia and other countries in West Africa and improve the country’s economy through the revenue generated from such investment.
According to LMA boss, Liberia has lots of professionals in the maritime sector, and there is a need to open up the space for the country to have more opportunities for its citizens in the sector.
