A subsidiary of China Railways is considering investing in the creation of a major port in the West African state of Liberia. China has spent $6.9 billion on port projects in West Africa in nine nations. The main goal of the CCP is always to preserve its realm of influence as well as to expand it. It is likely, therefore, that the Liberian port of Greenville is also part of this sprawling expansion strategy of the CCP. A possible Chinese naval base in West Africa would put the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) within reach of the United States and NATO member countries.
The China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group (CRBG) has conducted a site assessment at Greenville, a town about 240km southeast of Monrovia.
China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (“China Railway”) is a wholly state-owned company under the control of the Ministry of Finance that performs the duties of investors on behalf of the State Council.
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.
China has 95 ports of which six are ranked among the 10 largest in the world.
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.”
Although the acquisition of the ports represents a definite Chinese strategy to increase wealth and secure constant and direct access to natural resources for national security and the growing industrial sector (think lithium), their possession is also enormously valuable to Beijing in projecting outward its global power, including military power (read here)
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.
All Chinese commercial ports may serve as military bases in the future.
Port of Greenville
The Port of Greenville is located in the southeastern region of the country, about 673.6 kilometers from the Freeport of Monrovia. The harbor is protected by a 400m long breakwater and, on its inner side, by two quays. There are two berthing facilities, 70m, and 180m respectively, with an existing depth of 6m below the chart datum.
Chinese port projects in West Africa
China has spent $6.9 billion on port projects in West Africa in nine nations: Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
According to Alexander Wooley, director of partnerships and communications at AidData, flows of money and other resources from China to West African nations may indicate that such expansion is underway.
There are indications that Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon are likely contenders for a Chinese port. China has already spent more than $659 million to improve the port in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, and more than $1.3 billion in Kribi, Cameroon.
Both locations would offer the CCP an unprecedented position in the Gulf of Guinea, consolidating China as a nation of choice for foreign investment throughout Africa's rapidly expanding market and providing the regime with a foothold on the Atlantic Ocean.
A Chinese naval base in West or Central Africa would put the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) within easy reach of the United States and NATO member countries (read here).
A senior U.S. general said that Bata appeared to be where the regime had been most successful in its efforts to expand its African military presence.
Kribi now boasts fairly deep waters and a pier large enough to accommodate China's largest warships.
Both Bata and Kribi ports have attractive conditions for Beijing to establish bases and long-term relations with their leadership.
In any case, the CCP's main goal will always be to preserve its realm of influence in addition to expanding it. As for naval bases, they are more likely to be built from within and then expand outward.
It is probable, therefore, that the Liberian Port of Greenville will also fit into this sprawling CCP strategy.
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