CIRCULATING'COPY X Report No. 426a-LBR ` AuwED TO EPORTS OESK Liberia WITHIN Growth with Development ONE WEEK a Basic Economic Report (In Seven Volumes) Volume VI: Transport L March 1, 1975 Western Africa Region Not for Public Use Document of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Development Association I This report was prepared for official use only by the Bank Group. It may not be published, quoted or cited without Bank Group authcorization. The Bank Group does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the report. CURRENCY EQUIVALENT The official monetary unit is the Liberian dollar, with a par value equal to that of :the U.S. dollar. Apart from the Liberian dollar, the U.S. dollar is a legal tender in Liberia. LIBERIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface Suzmnary and Conclusions i-iv I. Introduction 1 A. General Background 1 B. Transport Sector Overview 1 C. Policy and Problems 2 D. Planning and Coordination 3 E. Conclusion 3 II. The Highway Subsector 3 A. Characteristics and Growth of Traffic 3 B. Road Infrastructure 5 C. Highway Administration and Maintenance 7 D. Conclusion and Future Direction 11 III. Ports 12 A. General Background and Management 12 B. General Traffic at Individual Ports 12 C. Individual Port Facilities 14 D. Conclusion and Development Strategy 17 IV. Railways 18 A. General Strategy 18 B. Railway Disenclavement Prospects 20 C. Conclusion 21 V. Air Transport 21 A. General Background 21 B. International Air Traffic and Facilities 22 C. Domestic Air Transport 23 D. Conclusion 24 VI. Sector Planning and Coordination 25 Tables PREFACE The Basic Economic Mission to Liberia did not include specific expertise in the transportation sector. Volume VI of the report has been prepared with a view to presenting the general reader with a description of the structure of the transportation sector. The recommendations in this volume are general ones, and many of them are directed to the need for further information as well as a more integrated view of transport alternatives and administration. Because of these recommendations, the IBRD intends to send a transportation sector mission to Liberia during 1976. Its report will at that point replace Volume VI of this present report. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 1. Liberia's strategic geographical location at the extreme Western edge of the African continent on the Atlantic coast makes it an ideal transit point for international aircraft and ships to and from the Americas and Europe. Recognition of this natural advantage might have influenced Liberia's liberal maritime policy which has attracted many international. shipping companies to sail under her flag. 2. Along with the other West African countries, Liberia shares the unfortunate features of thick inland deciduous forests, coastal mangrove swamps, heavy seasonal rainfall and poor road-making soils - each of which contributes to a comparatively high cost of ground transportation. 3. The nation's transport system is focused on Monrovia, the capital and largest city, which is served by a modern deep-water port, two inter- national airports, a skeletal trunk road network, and two short stretches of railway line. Other centers are Buchanan with its modern port and rail- road, and Harperat the extreme south end of the country. 4. The highway sector, although not well developed, is the predominant domestic transport mode for moving passengers and non-enclave products from the hinterland to Monrovia and other seaports. The railways serve enclave interests,primarily iron ore. No two modes are complementary, except the interphase of the railways and the roads at the ports. 5. The Liberian Government does not directly engage in commercial transportation, except for the National Port Authority and the Liberian National Airline which are public corporations. The Highway Sector 6. Roads are dominant mode of domestic transport and account for almost the entire movement of persons and non-enclave products. The movement is mostly from the hinterland to the seaports and from villages to metro- politan areas and vice-versa. Statistics on this movement do not exist but a rising trend of about 5 percent per annum has been noticeable over the past five years. With increased political concern and planned economic activities for the interior, as well as emphasis on road improvements, domestic passengers and freight are expected to grow at slightly higher annual rates. 7. The number of vehicles more than doubled in the five-year period 1966-1970 from 11,732 to 23,210. Assuming the trend has been maintained over the past two years, Liberia would have a total of about 35,000 vehicles today. About one-third of the vehicle fleet consists of heavy vehicles, of which less than two-thirds are trucks. This distribution has been maintained over the past several years. The rest are taxicabs and passenger cars. Liberia is well supplied with vehicles although there is some maldistribution of traffic between the major cities and the hinterland and small villages. - ii - The fleet composition reflects the relatively small movement of heavy and bulky non-enclave goods and products within the country by road. Any major change in the present traffic composition can only be predicated on the type of economic activity whichtakes place in the neglected hinterland. 8. The road transport industry, with free entry to all Liberians, is dominated by owner-operator or single vehicle companies. Fares and other charges, although non-regulated, appear to be fairly reasonable and competi- tive with other West African countries. Poor highway regulation and enforcement, and lack of data on road user charges, road construction and maintenance costs, make it difficult to determine the extent to which operators rather than consumers are being subsidized by the government. 9. Of Liberia's 4,200-mile road network, 290 miles or about 11.6 percent is paved. The rest is all-weather laterite and dry-weather farm-to-market roads. The network is inadequate for Liberia's needs, since many potentially productive parts of the country have no access by road. The primary network requires intensive and adequate maintenance and upgrading to cope with current and forecasted traffic. The $40 million current five-year road developaent and maintenance program may result in an improved network. 10. The Ministry of Pu.blic Works (MPW) is responsible for highway admini- stration. The continued inadequacy of road maintenance activities has resulted in a planned reorganization of the Ministry to reflect greater emphasis on main- tenance. Under the current five-year program, maintenance activities would be programed, new equipment acquired and maintenance supervisors and other tech- ni-nicns trained. 11. Although the Government's policy has not been explicitly stated, the road development and maintenance program aims at upgrading and maintaining the main primary road from Monrovia to Cape Palmas and constructing other vital missing links in Montserrado and Lofa counties within the next five years. 12. Subsequent road programs should be feeder road projects and road components of integrated rural development projects. Such roads are the key to genuine Liberia development. The Ports 13. Liberia's four main sea-ports - Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, and Cape Palmas, handle the nation's entire foreign trade and some trans-shipment to other countries. There has been a substantial increase (from 16.1 million in 1965 to 23.0 million tons in 1971) of total tonnage handled at the ports (representing a compound growth rate of 5.3 percent per annum). The major growth occurred in iron ore and has offset a steady decline since 1972 in imports and trans-shipment. This decline is attributable to new customs - iii - regulations which adversely affect the trans-shipment and the holding of inventories at the Freeport of Monrovia. The decline has been reflected in the port incomes of the National Port Authority (NPA) which manages the ports of Monrovia, Greenville and Cape Palmas and in stevedoring services. 14. Port traffic is expected to increase gradually, mostly from iron ore shipment. There is sufficient capacity at Monrovia and Buchanan to handle this increase. However, capacity at Greenville and Cape Palmas is limited and could not efficiently handle any increased traffic. Since neither of these two ports can be significantly expanded or improved on their present sites - there is need for a new port in the southeastern region of liberia. 15. NPA's administration of the ports is reasonably efficient although there is continuing need for professional personnel. Moderate profits were made from port operations during the past three years. 16. Future investments in the ports, beyond maintenance and rehabili- tation of existing facilities, must await the results of an ongoing comprehen- sive port development study. This study aims at emphasizing the south- eastern region whose development prospects hinge on a deep water port with good road or rail access to the hinterland. Railways 17. Liberia's 300 miles of railway line are owned and operated by four iron ore concessionaires (Liberia Mining Co., National Iron Ore Co., Bong Mining Co., and LAMCO Joint Venture Co.), almost entirely for transporting ore from the mines to the ports. Iron ore transported by the railways has increased from 12 million tone in 1964 to over 22 million tons in 1972. 18. Iron ore is Liberia's most important natural resource, accounting for 75 percent of foreign trade and 25 percent of public receipts. Produc- tion is expected to increase at about 6 percent per annum through 1974 and would result in an efficient utilization of the railway capacity. There is practically no demand for railway services outside the enclave sector. Liberia's general transport needs could best be served by a road network system rather than by a common carrier railway network. Thus, any future expansion of the railway network in Liberia would be strictly in connection with iron ore mining activities, although possible future demand of railway services cannot be completely discounted at the moment. Air Transport 19. Liberia is served by 14 international airlines from two major air- ports, Roberts International and Spriggs Payne. International passenger traffic has grown from 42,000 in 1966 to about 59,000 in 1971 - an.annual growth rate of about 7 percent. Most of these passengers are in transit. Similar moderate increases have been registered over the same period in air cargo and air mail. Traffic forecasts indicate that the rising trend will continue. Some major improvements have been and are being carried out at the two international airports, but only one international airport appears necessary for the country's needs. - iv - 20. Domestic air transport has either stagnated or declined over the past six years. The Government-owned Liberian National Airline's share of the domestic market has declined at an annual rate of about 15 percent for the past six years. Among the possible reasons for this decline are: com- petition by three non-scheduled charter companies; opening of new roads; limited service (LNA flies only to four of Liberia's more than 30 airports and strips); and variable demand for air services. The tourist industry, a major user of domestic air transport services in most developing countries has not been developed. There are no prospects for increased capacity by either the LNA or non-scheduled charter companies in light of the current and forecast demand conditions. I. INTRODUCTION A. General Background 1. Most of the road network was built during the past 20 years with US technical assistance from the Bureau of Public Roads, financial aid from US Export-Import Bank and some suppliers' credits. More recently, the Federal Republic of Germany and the World Bank Group have contributed to developing the transport sector. Much remains to be done in the entire transport sector yet. For its size and economic potential, Liberia's transport facilities are grossly inadequate. Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast each has 33, 38 and 71 km of road per 1,000 population as 2 against 4.2 km per 1,000 for Liberia. Road density in Liberia is .06 km/km2 compared to .27 km/km2 for Sierra Leone, a neighboring country with many similar economic and physical features. 2. Most of the population, about 62 percent, is concentrated in three contiguous counties: Montserrado, Bong, and Nimba which constitute only 38 percent of the land area. Only 15 percent of the population live in urban areas (Monrovia, Buchanan, Harper). Liberia has a high correlation between road and traffic densities and population concentrations. 3. Transport facilities for the enclave sector have been fairly adequate to handle increased output. However, efforts to encourage rural development would strain existing facilities. Success would depend upon the provision of extensive feeder or farm-to-market road networks, connecting the many isolated rural areas to the primary road system and to urban areas and ports. B. Transport Sector Overview 4. Liberia's transport system is not well developed - except for two deep water ports of Monrovia and Buchanan, and the Roberts International Airport, which mostly serve as entry and exit points of international traffic. All inland transport modes are focused in Monrovia and the four seaports. Passenger, merchandise and all non-enclave products between the ports and/o' interior are transported along the road, the dominant domestic mode. The railways serve almost exclusively the enclave sector (iron ore, rubber ard forest products). 5. The two main seaports have a direct link by road, whereas the two minor ports are linked to Monrovia by a circuitous interior road. The ports of Buchanan and Monrovia are served by both road and railway. These two ports handle about 85 percent of the export/import traffic (about 21 million long tons per annum). - 2 - 6. Of Liberia's 4,200 mile road network system, only about 11 percent is paved while the rest is laterite and earth roads. Traffic is especially dense in the Monrovia urban area, 12,000-13,000 vpd, the north- western corridor (Monrovia-Bomi Hills), 800-900 vpd, and the Careysburg- Ganta corridor, 500-2,000 vpd. Traffic volumes of about 300 vpd, run from Ganta to Zwedru, where about 120 and 140 vpd continue to Greenville and Harper respectively. Usually traffic volumes of this magnitude justify pavement of roads, but Liberia has been slow in incorporating the interior into the main economic sector. It is only recently that efforts to pave and properly maintain these roads have been underway. Outside the primary network and main corridors, effective demand has not been determined. There traffic is negligible and sporadic - accounting for the existing maldistri- bution. 7. Liberia's economic development depends upon the agricultural potential of the hinterland. Penetration roads, more than anything, would stimulate production of the agricultural markets. C. Policy and Problems 8. Up until now, there have not been any comprehensive studies of the subsectors (rail, roads, ports, and aviation), let alone an integrated study of the entire transport sector. Thus, intra-imodal conflicts, complementari- ties, and sectoral priorities have not been determined. Until last year when priorities in the highway subsector were set, there were no policies for road construction and maintenance. This is also the case for the port subsector. The dredging of the Freeport of Monrovia and the emergency main- tenance of Port Harper were individual projects. There has yet to be a com- prehensive study of Liberia's port needs and to the interphase with highways and railways, or in the context of Liberia's development potential. Although the railways serve almost exclusively the enclave sector and domestic air transport plays only a minute but vital role, their potential in the context of the entire transport sector and how they best complement other modes must be studied. Such a study is vital for national transport policy and planning. 9. Given the five-year highway development and maintenance program and the comprehensive ports development study about to commence, the task of a sector study is more than half done, since only a subvey of railway and domestic air transport is necessary to complete the transport sector. The World Bank will be reviewing the transport sector again in 1976, when some of this preliminary work is completed. - 3 - D. Planning and Coordination 10. Liberia's overall economic planning activities are vested in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs which has not the capability nor the responsibility for sectoral planning. Liberia has no transport sector planning body. Transport priorities have not been defined. There are no formal or informal coordination channels among the various transport modes or subsectors. Highway transport planning and administration are carried out by the Ministry of Public Works (MP1), while the National Port Authority administers the ports. The Bureau of Transport of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Transportation administers and regulates all transport services - yet it does not plan and coordinate transport sector activities as a whole. 11. While such a haphazard approach usually results in inefficient use.of scarce resources, the transport system is so underdeveloped that all efforts are presently concentrated in fulfilling the obvious primary needs of the nation's infrastructure. E. Conclusion 12. While the transport sector has been improved so that it can manage its present traffic volume, further improvements are necessary as the government under its policv of a balanced development spreads its sphere of influence into the rural areas. Therefore the policy objective is to provide access to the now inaccessible areas. To redress this imbalance, it is necessary to define a transport policy , to make it explicit through a transport plan, and to coorcinate it with a comprehensive development plan. 13. The entire sector should be viewed as a whole so that complementarity could be realized and modal conflict resolved - at the planning rather than operating stage. This is not possible without close cooperation and coordination among (1) the subsectors and (2) all other sectors of the economy. At present such cooperation and coordination are lacking and must be encouraged or developed at the sector level through or among MPWI, NPA and Ministry of Commerce Industry and Transportation and at the national level through the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs. II. THE HIGHWAY SUBSECTOR A. Characteristics and Growth of Traffic 14. The production of the non-enclave economic sector of Liberia and all domestic passenger transportation is by road. While there are no country- wide statistics on the total domestic movement of freight and passengers, traffic volumes on the major roads indicate the importance and position of road transport (See Table 2). 15. About half of the traffic is concentrated in Monrovia alone, and more than three-fourths of the traffic is concentrated in the Monrovia-Ganta corridor which is the population, commercial and agricultural focal point - 4 - of Liberia. Other roads that carry reasonable traffic volumes are Monrovia- Bomi Hill-Mano River and Monrovia-Robertsfield-Buchanan, and to a lesser extent, Gbanga-Zwedru and Zwedru-Greenville. These latter roads have generated considerable traffic in volume (ADT) because of the concentration of the timber industry in the southeastern region. 16. Average daily traffic of up to 13,000 vehicles per day (vpd) have been recorded between Monrovia and Sinkor, and 12,000 vpd between Monrovia and St. Paul River. The traffic pattern indicates that Monrovia is the focal point and further away from Monrovia, the lesser is the traffic volume. 17. In 1961 there were about 7,900 vehicles in Liberia, in 1966 about 11,700 and in 1970 about 23,200. Between 1961-70 the average annual growth rate was about 11.35 percent. Assuming that this trend was maintained during 1971-74 Liberia would now have about 35,000 vehicles. 18. During the same period gasoline consumption rose from about; 9.2 to 19.0 million gallons in 1970, representing an average growth rate of 10.6 percent per annum. Most of the gasoline is now refined in Liberia from imported crude oil. 19. Liberia's road transport industry developed without controLs and regulations. Entry into the industry is unrestricted to Liberians. Originally entry was allowed to all, but subsequent legislation excluded foreigners. After an initial period when a road is opened, fares and other charges are determined by competition among individual operators. The charges are generally reasonable and uniform, and often lower than those in some West African countries. 20. The taxi fare within Monrovia is US30, and USU60 in the expanded metropolitan area. Road transport charges per passenger for long journeys range from US$1 for 44 miles to about US$10 for 476 miles. Average operating costs per mile the USW14-20 for light vehicles and slightly higher for heavier vehicles (see Table 3). Road users' charges are difficult to deter- mine partly because the Government maintains no consolidated accounts of highway and vehicle related receipts and recurrent expenditures on road maintenance, and partly because the several activities are fragmented and handled in several agencies and ministries.1/ 21. There were about 186 transport and transport-related concerns in Liberia in 1972, with about 4,101 taxis, 1,873 trucks and pick-ups and 1,581 buses. The predominant concern is the one vehicle, owner-operator type, and only a few companies have 10 or more vehicles. Except for the few large operators, most operators do not carry any insurance coverage, so irrecoverable loss is sustained in the event of an accident. Insurance premiums for minimum coverage of a taxi are about US$500 per annum and much higher for other types of commercial vehicles. These high premiums reflect the very high risk factor, a very low percent of insured vehicles in the nation and a very high accident rate (50 per 1,000, 1970-1971). 1/ Recent action has been undertaken to study and consolidate such charges in the Ministry of Finance. 22. The Government has a policy requiring the insurance of private and commercial vehicles, but this policy is not implemented and enforced. This is also true about vehicle registration, driver licensing and traffic regula- tion enforcement - all of which exist only in theory. 23. There are about 16 fairly well equipped auto repair shops, mostly located in Monrovia, owned by the major automobile dealers. These shops are staffed with qualified technicians and provide reasonably good services. The four iron ore concessionaires have excellent auto and heavy equipment workshops, but do not accept public business. There are about 80 other ill- equipped auto workshops all over the country whose services are poor to fair. Of the six major auto dealerships all but two are foreign owned. 24. Traffic regulation and enforcement are fragmentory and inefficiently administered in several agencies. Unless these functions are consolidated and properly administered, the road transport industry is bound to suffer with the growth of traffic volume and the alarming accident rate. 25. In 1970 about 30 percent of the vehicles were heavy vehicles; trucks and buses. The rest were taxicabs and personal passenger cars. Of the heavy vehicles, trucks outnumbered buses 2:1. The same ratio of light to heavy vehicles holds today and could be explained by the fact that most of the domestic freight is non-bulky and light. Conspicuously absent in Liberia are "Mammy Wagons", whose main advantages are: (1) low capital cost; (2) flexibi- lity and (3) spaciousness. However, the mammies have their disadvantages: over-sized bodies, a menace to other vehicles; overloading which has a direct negative effect on the road and vehicles, and uncomfortable means of moving passengers and freight together in one compartment. 26. Most of the passenger buses in Liberia are "Mini buses". The two main versions are the 40 and 20 seaters. The larger type mostly ply in the urban areas and environs, while the smaller versions ply the suburb and rural areas as well as long journeys. Perhaps up to 90 percent of the taxi- cabs are concentrated in Monrovia. The rest can be found in the other few urban areas. Most of the taxis operating in Monrovia will occasinally go a radius of about 30 miles. Even with the planned encouragement to locate economic activities in rural areas and the increased pace of road building and maintenance activities, the present traffic composition is likely to persist unless access is provided to new areas and existing roads are improve3d. B. Road Infrastructure 27. There are about 4.,200 miles of primary and secondary roads in Liberia. The primary road system consists of about 1,700 miles of all-weather paved and laterite roads along economic and settlement areas in three major counties: Montserrado, Bong and Nimba. Most of the network originates from Monrovia (see Table 4 and Transportation Map). A 94-mile paved road runs from Monrovia through Roberts International Airport (RIA) to Buchanan, the second most important port in Liberia. The major primary road from - 6 - Monrovia runs in a northeastern direction through moderately populated parts of Bong County to Yekepa, on the Guinea border, with junctions at Gbanga and Ganta. The Gbanga junction continues in a northern direction to Voinjama and then west into Sierra Leone. The Ganta junction continues in a south- eastern direction in the interior through Zwedru to Harper (Cape Palmas), a major population and economic center near the Ivory Coast border. Another junction of the road after Zwedru continues via Pine Town, Juazohn to Greenville, a timber and logging port. There is also a north-westerly primary road from Monrovia through the Bomi Hills ore mine to Mano River, another ore mine near the Sierra Leone border, with a junction at Kle. This road runs alongside the joint LMC-NIOC ore concession railway line. From Kle, an IBRD financed road runs in a western direction to Tiene, where a Liberia-Sierra Leone link is now under construction. A new road has been completed from Bendu on the Kle-Tiene road to Robertsport, a potential tourist resort by Lake Piso. 28. The current "Five-Year Road Development and Maintenance Program" aims to upgrade most of the primary network between Totota and Tapeta; Brewerville-Bomi Hills; Brewerville-Hopolu, to construct a new stretch of road from Bong Mine through Bopolu to Zorzor, and three short stretches between Tatuke and Kaloke, Plibo and Barclayville, and Buchanan and River Cess - the section forming a possible second leg of a future coastal road. 29. A casual look at the road map of Liberia raises the question as to why there is no road from Buchanan to Cape Palmas. This would serve as a through coastal highway from Monrovia and avoid the circuitous inland road, thus saving about 200 miles. The reason is that there are only a few small fishing villages along the coast and that most of the coastal area is swampy or marsh land which presents formidable technical and cost problems for road construction even under the most favorable economic conditions. Unlike the hinterland, where there is timber or where tree crops could be raised, the coastal swamps have no timber nor would the soil raise any crops. Under the circumstances,justification for the coastal road would only depend on through traffic between Buchanan, Greenville and Harper, which is currently non-existent and not expected to grow. 30. Currently, all bulky and heavy freight for Greenville or Cape Palmas is handled by coastal vessels, and most of the small villages along the coast can be reached by light aircraft in case of emergency and other administra- tive necessities. In addition, two stretches of roads to be constructed under the current Five-Year Program, one from Plibo to Barclayville andL another from Buchanan to River Cess, would leave a coastal span of about 110 miles without a road. During discussion with the mission, the Liberian authorities said that they would consider the missing lfhk during the second road development program, with emphasis of locating the route further inland from the coast where better soil may exist and natural resources could be exploited. Thus, at the moment, there is no strong economic justification for a through coastal road, particularly when more pronounced needs for roads in central Lofa county have yet to be met. - 7 - 31. While the primary road network is still under construction, it is not surprising that the secondary network is less developed and does not claim national priority. At present, it consists of about 1,500 miles of road linking agricultural establishments and other small scale economic activities to the primary road system or semi-urban areas. Some of these roads cannot be used at all during parts of the wet season. In addition to the secondary road system, there are about 376 miles of unspecified farm-to market and other roads mostly located within or associated with agricultural areas, rubber plantations and timber forests. The roads in this last category are not shown in any transport map of Liberia. Most of the concessions have built roads of various standards within their business areas or to the nearest population center or primary roads. There are about 1,300 miles of such roads which serve the concessions and, to some extent, the public. 32. - Many parts of Liberia have not yet been provided with primary, let alone, penetration roads. These areas are north Grand Cape Mount, Central Lofa, most of Grand Bassa, Grand Gedeh, and most of Sinoe counties. The common characteristics of these areas are that they have widely dispersed small communities and no major economic activity. The cost of providing feeder or penetration roads in these areas would be quite high and hard to justify on economic benefits alone, particularly in the absence of planned development of the hinterland. However, after the current Five-Year Program, which would provide the vital missing links in the primary network, the Government intends to shift its emphasis from primary to feeder road network, particularly in the isolated areas. 33. The preceding description of the Liberian road system is not meant to convey the impression of a lack of road building in the country. To the contrary, activity in this vital sector of the economy is quite significant. The transportation map accompanying this volume of the report indicates the roads now existing and those bAing built. Of particular significance now is the link between Liberia and Sierra Leone and the road from Totota to Ganta, both of which are now under construction. C. Highway Administration and Maintenance 34. The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is responsible for the public highway network. Its functions are performed through four Bureaus, one each for Administrative Services, Technical Services, Operations, and Construc- tion. MNW also has a Planning Division which reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The Ministry also has a physical Planning Division whose scope and responsibilities include the following: to formulate' plans and guide general land-use development; to observe physical development of Townships, City or County seats and maintain a comprehensive general plan of Monrovia and each local city and region. However, at present the Division is pre- dominantly undertaking zoning. The Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Action for Development and Progress are actively involved in providing minimum penetration roads outside the National Highway Program of the Ministry of Public Works. 35. In 1970, MPW employed about 2,100 persons, of whom about 1,800 were assigned to the Bureau of Operations which maintains public roads. There is a shortage of well-trained engineers in MPW because of low Government salaries. As early as 1969 MPW recommended that salaries be raised to attract engineers from the private sector ancd from abroad. The salaries of engineers and tech- nicians at MPWwere finally raised by 25 percent in January 1973 and the Government is now confident that it can recruit the engineers required for MPW. However, engineers and civil servants with similar qualificaticns in other ministries who have not benefited from the MPW 25 percent salary increase are now unhappy. 36. The proposed reorganization program is also in vital need of mechanics, operators, and foremen and about 300 of MPW's Bureau of Operations staff will require additional training. The Government's Technical Institute at Kakata was designed to provide advanced vocational education. However, the mission which recently appraised an education project in Liberia, does not consider the Institute to be the right training center for MPW.1/ More effective training for MNW staff could be provided at two pilot maintenance centers at Buchanan and Greenville financed by a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany. These centers have the necessary equipment, and were established to provide on-the-job training for the personnel required to maintain about 290 miles of roads constructed with German financial assistance. Since their establishment in 1971, about 25 persons have been trained at the two centers. To allow training of the 300 MPW employees within the four-year program, the Federal Republic of Germany has agreed to expand its prc,gram at the centers. 37. Foreign consultants are used in the MPW for engineering of major highway projects which involve loans from foreign sources. MPW's Bureau of Technical Services designs minor works, for example farm-to-market roads, which are generally carried out by the Ministry's own sources. The Bureau also has functional responsibility for all engineering services, major and minor. It appears to be competent and is assisted by MPW's soils and materials testing laboratory. 38. Major road construction is carried out mostly by contract on the basis of competitive bidding. MPW's regional districts supervise road con- struction, with assistance from foreign consultants. Only two Liberian-owned contracting firms have experience in road and bridge construction. To date, three foreign firms with established local branches have executed contracts. The local construction,industry, especially the road construction industry, should be stimulated.-/ 39. The Bureau of Operations, responsible for public properties and for highway maintenance, performs this task through six Regional District and County Offices, each headed by a Resident Engineer. The principal function 1/ Report No. PE-39a, March 9, 1972 2/ The IBRD Second Highway Loan also includes financial aid for stimulating the local construction industry. - 9. - of a District office is the direct suipervision of field operations. Main- tenance and repair of highway equipment is done by the Bureau's Mobile Equipment Division which comprises the Central Workshops at Monrovia and five field stations. 4o. In the past, the road network has been ina 4equately maintained, partly as a result of the organizational structure 1 of the Ministry of Public Works and partly as a result of insufficient funds and maintenance equipment. Sometimes the Government did not provide enough funds even for recurrent road maintenance expenditures. The old maintenance organization suffers from several shortcomings: (i) lack of supervision from Hleadquarters over decisions and operations of Resident Engineers; (ii) lack of reporting to Headquarters of performed maintenance operations; (iii) inaccurate recording of maintenance expenditures; (iv) absence of regular preventive maintenance for equipment; and ( v) inadequacy of programming operations and fund allocations. The weakness of the organization as a whole stemmed mainly from the unclear separation of maintenance responsibilities from other tasks, and from a shortage of well-trained staff. 41. To reorganize MPWW, consultants recommend creating a Highway Main- tenance Division at the Ministry. This division should have full control over each region's maintenance operations on the public highway system, including planning and programming of operations, and supervision of labor and equipment used by Regional Districts. At the same time, the Mobile Equipment Division would be strengthened in equipment, staff, and budget.2/ 42. The organizational and staffing problems are compounded by the shortage of maintenance equipment. MPW's equipment fleet is presently com- posed of about 200 units, of which more than 55 percent are beyond economical repair. A 1964 IBRD loan had financed US$860,000 of maintenance equipment, most of which was delivered in 1965. It has now outlived its useful service period. Also, over the past 10 years, USAID has provided several batches of highway maintenance equipment, most of which now requires reconditioning to be useful. 43. On the basis of two feasibility studies, Highway Organization and Maintenance and Monrovia Port Area Highway and Bridge, the Government put together in late 1972 a Five-Year Highway Development and Maintenance Program. The program, estimated atUS$40 million, is supposed to provide or improve about 1,000 miles of primary and secondary road network in Liberia. Other important aspects of the program include the procurement of maintenance equipment, establishment and strategic location of several maintenance work- shops in the nation, and programmed maintenance of all roads. 44. Until this first highway development plan, which represents the first concerted effort to look at the entire highway network and needs as a whole, individual roads have usually been justified on the basis of indivicbaal merits. Some roads were simply built on an ad hoc basis. This lack of 1/ The Five-Year Road Plan includes reorganization of MPW. 2/ The recommendations of the Consultants (SAUTI) are currently being implemented. - 10 - planning followed from a lack of a national highway policy to set the national road priorities and strategies of fulfillment. The reorganization of the N'W should provide a means of some minimal planning of the highwrays. 45. Ministry of Puiblic Works established in June 1974 a Highway Planning and Programming Division which also works with the Consultants (SAUTI) in overall planning. It is currently being staffed. 46. Once staffed, the tasks of the Planning Division will be: (i) to collect traffic and inventory data on the entire network; (ii) to analyze construction and maintenance costs; and (iii) to assess priorities for road construction and improvement in accordance with general development plans. 47. Road construction works have been financed largely from foreign loans. A supplier credit of US$23 million was signed in 1962, and the IBRD lent US$3.25 million in 1964, supplemented by a loan of US$1 million in 1965 (Loan 368-LBR); in 1971, USAID committed US$4.4 million for financing four rural roads. IBRD committed US$3 million and IDA US$2.6 million for engi- neering of roads in 1973, while USAID recently financed a socio-economic study of a rural penetration road. The Federal Republic of Germany has also participated in development of the highway network. The Eximbank provided some financing for the purchase of road maintenance equipment dauring 1951-63. The results of all these efforts have been satisfactory, but much still remains to be done. 48. Expenditures for highway administration and maintenance are financed from the general budget. MFW's budget is prepared annually by its Finance Division on the basis of estimates from its four Bureaus. Except for personel services, it is not required that every item of expenditure be supported by detailed statements. A consultant fina, SAUTI, has now proposed programming and budgeting techniques which would indicate the purposes of programs and ways to improve budget preparation and cost accounting procedires. 49. During 1968-72, recurrent expendituires for road maintenance and for MPW salaries increased from US$1.2 million to US$1.9 million, or by about 12 percent annually. The allocation for maintenance operations alone rose by about 7.5 percent annually to almost US$1 million, but on account of traffic growth this was not enough to keep the network in adequate condition. 50. There are no reliable data for gasoline consumption and imported vehicles. The Ministry of Finance states that about half of the Liberian imports, subject to customs duties, are in fact brought.in duty-free, primarily because of the many exemptions granted to certain companies. The import duty on all motor vehicles and spare parts is 28 percerąt, and on tires 30 percent. Duty on gasoline amounts to us#1)4 per gallon and on diesel oil to USc 11 Annual registration taxes range from US$40 for small cars to abouLt US$170 for trucks. - 11 - 51. Total revenues from road user charges cannot be calculated accurately due to lack of data. SAUTI has estimated the amount collected at a minimum of US$1.5 million 1968, and US$2.5 million in 1970. These figures indicate that revenues more than cover recurrent highway expenditures. After accurate figures are prepared, the Planning Division of MTW will study the revenues from road user charges, and recommend type of taxes and appropriate levels. D. Conclusion and Future Direction 52. From a development point of view, Liberia's road system is in- adequate since areas of the country are without roads and since there are no viable or alternative means by which their potential development can be realized in the absence of roads. The existing road system, most of which is not paved, is in very poor condition because of sub-standard and infrequent maintenance. Vehicle operating costs are therefore higher than they would otherwise be. 53. The traffic characteristics depict an over concentration of economic activities in the Monrovia area and in the Monrovia-Sanniquellie corridor. This concentration of traffic inevitably accounts for the rapid deterioration of the highway and the apparent maldistribution of traffic. The only favorable road transport index in Liberia is the relatively high vehicle to population index of about 20:1,000 - the highest in the entire region. Thus, given a rational road user charges policy and an efficient collection system, the charges should pay for maintenance services and perhaps even provide a source of net revenue to the Government. 54. The traffic congestion in Monrovia and the resultant high accident rate emanate from lack of drix.er licensing procedures and regulations, and its inefficient enforcement. 55. Recognition of the weakness of highway administration and main- tenance has led to reorganization of the MPW on a more efficient functional basis. Policy and planning have been non-existent until late 1972 when the first five-year highway development and maintenance program was put together from two previous studies. This is the first time that the national road priorities have been examined as a whole. This priority ranking is supported by the reorganization of MPW, its effort to acquire further profes- sional staff and the provision of a transport planner. 56. The future direction of the highways - the dominant domestic mode, suggests two things: (i) provision of several hmndreds of miles of minimal access roads to many isolated existing villages or newly created integrated rural areas, and (ii) upgrading of the primary and secondary roads in response to traffic and other economic growth indices. Perhaps the urgent need for rural roads is best indicated by a preliminary choice of seven out of nine counties that they would spend their share of about US$3. million of Rally money in rural road construction. - 12 - III. PORTS A. General Background and Management 57. There are four ports in Liberia - the free port of Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville (Sinoe) and Harper (Cape Palmas). Only the fiIst two are deep-water ports and account for all the iron shipment and over 90 per- cent of the total cargo traffic. The ports were the first mode to develop in Liberia. Today they are the dominant mode for international tralfic. 58. The ports (except Buchanan) are administered by the National Port Authority (NPA) which was established by the legislature in April 1967 and became operative in November 1968. NPA took over administration and manage- ment of the Freeport of Monrovia from the Monrovia Port Management Company and that of Greenville and Harper from similar management contracts.. NPA is not only charged with management, but also with the planning and develop- ment of all national ports. At the moment, only the port of Buchanan, or more specifically the commercial quay of this port is not under direct control of NPA. Efforts to negotiate a management contract with LAMCO or take over the administration of the commercial quay at Buchanan have already begun. 59. Both NPA and the Government have been very conscious to maintain efficiency while taking over management of the Liberian ports. To ensure this, most of the experienced technical and professional staff of M}MC were retained by NPA. Since its establishment, NPA performance has been fairly satisfactory in spite of a continuing need for professional personnel to help in advance planning. 60. The real authority of NPA is vested in an eleven member Board, six representing the Government, four representing the port users and one representing labor. Although it is too early to judge, it appears that the board has not advanced any significant policy directives and strategy for faxture port development. Moreover, the board has been unable to resolve the issue of customs infringement in the Freeport of Monrovia, which has adversely affected port revenues (see Table 5). B. General Traffic at Individual Ports 61. The overall traffic volume handled in the four Liberian ports has grown from 13 million long tons in 1964 to about 23 million in 1971 (see Table 6). About 94 percent of all the freight is made up of iron ore. The ports of Monrovia and Buchanan each handle about half of the iron ore ship- ment and most of all other freight is handled at Monrovia. Fluctuations in general-cargo traffic in the past have been in response to major investments in the country. Excluding traffic which may be directly connected with such - 13 - large projects, general cargo tended to remain under 500,000 tons oer annum with little, if any, rise at all.. 62. Although it is not possible to give a detailed analysis of the general cargo going through Liberian ports, the following general conclusions can be made: imports of rice, about 160,000 tons per annum (Liberia's staple) have increased constantly with population growth and the inability to increase local production of rice; latex exports which have averaged 82,000 tons a year over 1970-72, are expected to average 90,000 tons a year between 1973-78; bulk petroleum traffic has increased from 178,000 tons in 1967 to about .00,000 tons in 1972; and imports of clinker have remained at about 60,000 tons per annum. 63. General cargo traffic through the port of Buchanan is largely LAMCO or enclave traffic. Traffic at the port increased from 11,000 tons in 1961 to 33,000 tons in 1968 (a period of moderate growth) and jumped from 111,000 tons in 1969 to 206,000 tons in 1971 - a period of rapid growth. The latter period was marked by increased logging activities at the port. On the other hand, the port of Harper (Cape Palmas) has maintained a rather small steady increase from 23,000 tons in 1961 to about 67,000 tons in 1971. 64. Of about 876 ships calling in Liberia in 1968, 87 percent of them or 763 berthed at Monrovia, 10 percent at Buchanan and the remaining 3 per- cent at Greenville and Harper. In 1970 only 777 ships called in Liberia with a similar ratio evident for the ports. In 1971, the number of ships increased to 1,612 and the only noticeable difference was that the number of calls at Greenville had increased substantially against a corresponding decline at Harper (Table 7). This was due to increased logs and timber shipment at Greenville and the poor conditions of port facilities at Harper. 65. Preliminary data shows that 1,605 vessels called in Liberia in 1972 - a slight decline fron 1971. The decline was not severe in cargo vessels and in the number of calls at the port of Monrovia. It resulted from a decline of transshipment cargo via Monrovia and from fewer imports by major importers of Liberia. 66. NPA made some modest returns in operations of the ports of Monrovia and Greenville during 1970-1972, but sustained deficits in Harper during 1970-1971 as a result of the poor port conditionis which prevented many coastal vessels from calling at this port. 67. As a public corporation, NPA receives no budgetary subsidies. Yet the Government refuses to reimburse NPA for services rendered in handling government supplies at the dock. The Government is a major importer and consequently, NPA's income is definitely understated. Whether or not the Government should actually reimburse NPA for the services, the fact remains that as a corporation, the value of such services, paid or unpaid, should be properly reflected in NPA's accounts. - 14 - C. Individual Port Facilities 68. Monrovia: The breakwater port of Monrovia (also known as the Freenort of Monrovia) was constructed between 1943 and 1948 at a cost of about US$19.5 million by the TJnited States Government. TJntil the establish- mnent in November l968 of the National `ort Authority (NWA), the port was managed by the Monrovia Dort Management Company (MPMC) under contract with the Liberian Government. This nort is now under the complete control of the NPA. 69. The phvsical facilities of this port include general cargo berths, three ore loading piers (owned and operated by LMC, NIOC and FMC) one refinery pier, one petroleum pier, and a fishery pier. The three ore and the one refinery piers can handle large vessels and tankers of up to 90,000 tons deadweight (dwt). All three ore concessions have shipping officers and ore storage dumps in the port area. There are also two large bonded ware- houses along the general cargo berths area. 70. The port of Monrovia handles about 55 percent of all Liberia's foreign trade tonnage. Although maximum capacity has not been reached at the port, there is little or no suitable land available within the present port premises for further expansion or location of new economic activities. 71. A 1956 Liberian law states that (a) the "Freeport of Monrovia (hereinafter sometimesreferred to as the Freeport) shall be construed to mean the area enclosed by the north and south breakwaters and the fence on the land side of Bushrod Island . . . and (b) "Customs Territory shall be construed, in connection with importing and exporting, to include all Liberian territory except that included within the Freeport of Monrovia."' 72. In line with its "Open Door" policy, this law was designed so that Literia could take advantage of the general and special economic benefits of a free port. Usually, a feeport is a custom-free zone within a country in which cargo and freight is not subject to customs duties and inspection. This permits shipping companies and forwarding agents to accept transit cargo which is then discharged and kept at the freeport until forwarded without subjecting it to customs duties and. inspection. It also serves as a deport where major exporters and importers may hold stock and where new products could be stored until samples have been market tested without having to pay customs duties on products which may have no market. The Government also envisaged the free port as a place in which overseas manufacturers could set up assembly plants, import duty- free comDonents and assemble them into machinery and finally export thEm to other West African markets, again without having to pay Liberian customs or excise duties. Given Monrovia as a freeport, many sales and manufacturers' agents would be encouraged to use Liberia as a base where stock is held, orders within West Africa filled at short notice and sample products distributed to be inspected by potential customers. 73- The benefits Liberia would derive from the free port are in the form of berthing fees and. other services to the ships, importer/exporter and - 15 - manufacturers, and rents for warehouse space. The double handling (dis- charging and loading) of all transit cargo provides employment in the stevedoring services and berthing fees to NPA. Without a free port system, most transshipment cargoes which account for the double handling would not be landed in Liberia. Other advantages of a freeport are that a country with a small domestic market can engage in large scale manufacture or assembly of products for export which would otherwise be impossible with import and/or excise duties. This provides employment opportunities for local labor. 74. The realities of the Freeport of Monrovia fall short of the legislated intentions. In the first place, no significant industry has ever been established inside it. This is a reflection of the general proposition that Liberia is not a particularly attractive place for industry, thus the benefits of a freeport do not begin to outweigh other significant disadvantages. As a free transit port however, Monrovia has in the past had some success. However, by the end of the Tubman regime this privilege had become badly misused, significant smuggling was taking place, particularly on overland transit, and there were even instances of direct retail sales from within the Port. The Tolbert administration has attempted to stem these abuses by rigorously enforcing the customs laws and by, among other measures, initially requiring a substantial bond on all transit cargoes. The result seems to have been a significant diversion of transit traffic away from Monrovia with the consequent loss of fees and jobs. The balance between attracting traffic and enforcing the customs laws of the country appears to be a delicate one; it. may be some time before a proper balance can be achieve. 75. Buchanan: The port of Buchanan,which was completed in 1963, lies 750 km north of the Equator and 150 km southeast of Monrovia. The port was specifically designed to handle shipment of the Mt. Nimba iron ores. 76. The two breakwaters around the port are constructed of huge stone blocks to serve as protection against Atlantic swells. The main breakwater is about two kilometers long. The breakwaters have fixed lights and the habor mouth is marked by light buoys. A steel tower rising about 29 meters above sea level serves as the main navigational ight with a beam of about 15 nautical miles. 77. Port facilities include an automated ore loading pier capable of berthing ships of up to 106,000 tons dwt, and a commercial quay. The ore pier is 12.8 m. deep and 258 m. long, while a standby quay is 10 m. deep and 183 m. long. The commercial quay is 10 m. deep and 336 m. long. A 150-ton derrick crane operates on the commercial quay. The ore pier also handles incoming cargoes of oils and. gasoline. The commercial quay handles all general merchandise, forest products, rubber, palm oil and some transit traffic to and from Guinea. LAMCO maintains a pelletizing plant, and mechanical and. electrical service shops at Buchanan. There is a 1,000 m3 warehouse capacity under customs' control. The port is equipped with ship-to-shore communication systems with radio contact with vessels about 1,000 nautical miles or 48 hours sailing time away from Buchanan. - 16 - 78. Although LAMCO manages the entire port of Buchanan, including the commercial quay, NPA has already initiated formal arrangements by which management of the commercial quay would be taken over from LAMCO or by which LAMCO would be designated as managing agent. The port of Buchanan is adequately served by a paved road from Monrovia and the 170-mile LAMCO railway from Yekepa. The central section of a former service road along the railway has deteriorated beyond. usage so that there is no through road to Buchanan from Yekepa. Because of the railway, however, there is no economic justification for a new road. 79. Iron ore activities dominate the port operations, and commercial cargo is only 1 percent of the port's annual tonnage. The efficiency of the commercial quay depends on the fact that LAMCO absorbs or spreads overhead costs of the quay over its entire operation and uses heavy and expensive equipment intensively and interchangeably on the ore activities and commercial quay. LAMCO's other-facilities, such as mechanical and electrical workshops, pelletizing plant and technical personnel provide free or complementary services at the commercial quay. Thus, were NBA to assume direct and full management of, and bear all the operating costs of the quay, the operation would not be viable in itself. 80. Thus, a management contract with LAMCO would most benefit NPA for the time being. A gradual take-over based upon increased volume at the quay and availability of suitable personnel coupled with other favorable concessions which could be negotiated with LAM4CO, should be the long-term objective of NPA. 81. Greenville (Sinoe): Unlike Monrovia and Buchanan, which are deep water ports, Greenville is a medium size shallow port which berths mostly coastal vessels and occasionally a few small freighters. The physical facilities at this small port are modest: a small warehouse, sawn timber sheds, administrative offices and a very large and under- utilized log depot. 82. There is no shore equipment at this port and all loading and discharging is handled with ships' gear. The port has been under BPA management since January 1970. The major commodities handled are logs, sawn timber, petroleum products and general cargo. 83. At present, because most ocean liners cannot berth at this port, most of the timber and logs must be loaded under hazardous and time consuming processes in the open ocean from barges, lighters or rafts, while the ship is anchored. 84. Although Greenville has ample and suitable space for general expansion, it is apparent that such expansion hinges on (1) converting or expanding the port from shallow to deep water; (2) the existence of large quantities of forestry and other resources. Since a recently completed feasibility study of this port shows that it is technically impossible to dredge this port to minimum deep water specifications, it is likely to remain a secondary port suitable only for export products that can be lightened economically and coastal traffic. - 17 - Harper (Cape Palmas): Port Harper is the smallest Liberian port. It is located in Maryland County near the Ivory Coast border. This shallow port which cannot berth any ocean liner, is built on a tiny rock island which serves as part of the breakwater. The port area is very small and there is virtually no feasible means of expanding the port or its physical facilities at the present location. 86. Its physical facilities consist of a small jetty in disrepair, a little warehouse with 60,000 gallon capacity (Firestone) latex tanks, and a small open space which holds a few timber logs at a time. NPA is currently undertaking emergency rehabilitation of the port - involving restoration of some 200 yd. of swell demolished breakwaters, repairs and strengthening of the jetty and widening of the causeway. 87. Coastal shipping offers the least cost, perhaps the only reliable means of transporting petroleum products, cement and general cargo into, and latex, sawn timber, logs and agricultural products out of Maryland County. Since freighters cannot berth at the jetty, loading and discharging of ships is carried out on barges and lighters on the open sea. Certain species of Maryland logs which are either too heavy or cannot float (sinkers), must be transported some 300 miles round-trip to Greenville for shipment. The current emergency rehabilitation, at a cost of $0.8 million,is a justifiable investment. D. Conclusion and Development Strategy 88. The Liberian ports were the first and most important transport mode to develop. They still are, particularly as far as movement of inter- national freight is concerned. The locations of the four ports were greatly influenced by the obvious population and economic activities in the areas. These ports have served the country adequately in the past. Not until recently, when Harper experienced structural failure and at the same time Greenville became excessively jammed with logs and lumber, has the absence of a deep water port in the southeast of Liberia seriously threatened the economic development of that region of the country. 89. There is no definite port development policy and strategy in Liberia, beyond the port dredging project, NPA has now determined to pursue a rational approach to future port developments in Liberia with guidance from the Bank Group. NPA has requested a comprehensive port development study of Liberia, which is now underway. A feasibility study of Greenville has been conducted to determine the viability of further port improvements to cater for increased timber and logging activities. This study shows that the port cannot be dredged to deep water specifications. 90. There is, therefore, a need for a deep water port between Greenville and Harper, to enable any meaningful exploitation of the timber mineral and agricultural resources of the entire southeastern region. Thus, the comprehensive study should specifically determine a suitable site for this port. The comprehensive port development study should also assess the immediate and long-term needs of ports in Liberia and recommend a strategy by which these needs would be met. - 18 - IV. RAILWAYS A. General Strategy 91. The 300 miles of railway line in Liberia are owned and operated by the four mining concessionaires (LMC, NIOC, B4C and LAMCO) mainly for transporting iron ore from the mines to the ports. Only the LAMCO Buchanan- Ylount Nimba railway provides public service by carrying rubber, timber, logs, palm kernels and general merchandise, besides a passenger railbus. Since all the railways in Liberia were built as part of the investment in ore mining, their efficiency cannot be judged, except in the overall context of the companies' mining operations, which have been generally satisfactory. 92. The importance of railways in Liberia's transport network lies in the fact that virtually all the iron ore has been moved by rail from the mines to the ports. Railway traffic, mostly iron ore, has increased from 12 million tons in 1964 to about 21 million tons in 1971. Iron ore alone represents more than 90 percent of all freight by weight handled in Liberia and more than 99 percent of railway traffic volume. 93. LAMCO Railway: The 270 km (170 miles) railway line connects the port of Buchanan with Mount Nimba ore mine near the Guinea border. The rail is single tract, standard gauge (1 ,435 mm.) with nine unmanned sidings of ample passing lengths. Loaded ore trains weighing about 11,000 tons average 45 mph on the tracks. Empty trains and the railbuses maintain faster speeds of 50-60 mph. Speed is restricted for safety rather than technical reasons. The line alignment and track maintenance are excellent and the rolling stock is modern and in a very good condition. 94. Rail movements are directed by a radio-operated centralized traffic control system fram the train's master panel in Yekepa. Messages from the station are transmitted by dual radio link. Radio and telephone channels are used for the internal telephone system. Theiradio channel enables loco- motive drivers and service personnel along the line to be reached through a number of fixed radio stations. 95. This is the only railway which offers transport services to the public in Liberia. The main categories of commodities transported on this rail are forestry products of logs and sawn timber, rubber, palm kernels and general merchandise. Some of the general merchandise is transit cargo destined for Guinea. There is also a railbus passenger eervice which runs both ways each day between Buchanan and Yekeba for a US$5 fare per adult one way, about US'3 per mile. 96. All railway service charges are not based on operating costs or out-of-pocket expenses incurred by LAMCO in providing each service. Commercial service constitutes only 1 percent of the total annual traffic of the railway. This suggests little road and rail competition. - 19 - 97. Bong Mining Company Railway: The ore deposit of the Bong Mining Company is situated 22 miles north of Kakata and about 66 miles by road from Monrovia. The 50 mile standard gauge single track railway with two sidings connects the mine with the port of Monrovia. The railway was constructed at a cost of about US$22 mill-ion and was opened for operation in 1965. 98. Loaded ore trains take 2-1/2 hours (25-30 mph) from the mine to the port with one stop at the siding to enable passage of returning empty trains. The low speed is necessitated by technical and safety considerations. 99. This railway does not offer any public services, but does handle all the necessary supplies of the company. Two-thirds of the road from Monrovia to Bong Mine is paved and the remaining one-third is a well-maintained gravel road. This road provides fast, adequate and cheap transport services along its corridor from Monrovia to the mine. 100. There are no villages or settlement areas along the railway line and there is no rail and road conflict now and perhaps in the near future. 101. LMC and NIOC Railway: The 90 mile single track narrow gauge rail- way from Monrovia to Mano River is owned partly by the Liberian Mining Company (LMC) and partly by the National Iron Ore Company (NIOC). The 40 mile section of rail line from Monrovia to Bomi Hill belongs to LffC and the 50 mile section from Boni Hill to Mano River belongs to NIOC. There are four sidings on the entire line and a marshalling yard at Bomi Hill where LMC and NIOC trains are schedcled for the run to the port of Monrovia. 102. The journey from Bomi Hill to the port of Monrovia (40 miles) takes about two hours (i.e. 20 mph). The low speed is due to the narrow gauge, ore train weight, poor alignment and some bad bridges. The 50 mile NIOC section of rail is better than the IMC section, and running time from Mano River to Bomi Hill is about two hours (25 mph), but the NIOC trains must wait for about three hours at the marshalling yard at Bomi Hill. IMC and NIOC share the cost of maintenance of the Monrovia-Bomi Hill section of railway, whereas NIOC alone is responsible for the 50 mile section between Bomii Hill and Mano River. 103. This railway offers no public or commercial services, but when necessary, minor services have been rendered free of charge to individuals. The general area between Monrovia and Mano River is well served by fast, cheap and flexible road transport. There is every indication that no road and railway conflict or competition would develop. 104. The 114C ore reserves at Bomi Hill will be exhausted within the next few years and the company is currently negotiating with the Government for rights to work the Bie Mount ore reserves. NIOC has still large ore reserves at Mano River. Thus, if LMC were to fail in negotiating the rights to mine the Bie Mount ore, the company would fold at the exhaustion of the Bomi Hill reserves, and NIOC would have to acquire the 40 mile section of rail from Bomi Hill to the port of Monrovia. Prospects of upgrading this rail to standard gauge and better alignment hinge on LMC winning concession of the Bie Mount reserves and finds of high-grade ore. - 20 - B. Railway Disenclavement Prospects 105. The disenclavement of railway services in Liberia would mean that the railways become common carriers and offer public services to everyone instead of exclusively carrying iron ore and a few enclave products. At present, only the LAMCO railway offers any commercial service. The other mining concessionaires provide no railway services, partly because the concession agreements do not require them to do so and partly because of the existence of a faster and more flexible road alternative. 106. The share of freight other than iron ore handled on the LAMCO railway is negligible. The railway service charges of US$5 per adult passenger from Nimba-Buchanan (170 miles) are slightly higher than comparable road passenger services for equal distance (compare: Monrovia- Zorzor, 189 mi = US$3; Monrovia-Kolahun, 275 mi = US$5). Cargo charges are US$10 - US$15 per m3 of lumber,and US$88 - US$100 per car load of crepe, bale rubber, and other cargoes. These charges may include at no extra cost up to 30 days storage each at the railhead and port area and handling. There is no comparable alternative mode between Buchanan and Nimba because the service road along the rail has been allowed to deteriorate out of service. Although LAMCO does not know the variable and fixed costs for each category of operation or service provided, the commercial service is apparently profitable since the concession will continue to provide these services as long as ore movement is not adversely affected. 107. Because rail transport is most economical when it is used for bulk cargoes marshalled at infrequent points, it may not be economical to expect the railways to assume the role of feeder roads in providing a development network for small-scale agricultural growth. Moreover, since the operation of the railways is solidly linked to the operation of the enclave projects, any interruption in the transit of enclave exports caused by commercial traffic would be costly. Finally, it would be difficult to operate any of the railways independently of the mines they are linked to. 108. Given these constraints however there appears to be significant potential capacity in the rail system that could be utilized at extremely low marginal cost. A commercial system with depots in lower Nimba, Central Bong, and Upper Bassa as well as Yekepa and Buchanan could have significant economic impact on the central interior of Liberia. At the same time it could prove to be quite profitable for LAMCO and would have a negligible impact on the scheduled evacuation of iron ore. 109. One approach which Government may consider is to seek a general reduction of all railway charges, particularly for passenger service, lesser for other categories of services LAMCO's primary operation (iron ore) already does absorb (or can do so) the cost of track, maintenance, and depots, so the investmental cost of commercial traffic is small. A US$3 fare per passenger and lesser reduction for lumber, logs, rubber and general cargo would seem reasonable. C. Conclusion 110. At present and in the near future, it is apparent that the railways will continue to concentrate on ore transportation from the mines to the ports. While the Mt. Nimba-Buchanan railway is the only railway which offers commercial services, these account for a mere one percent of the annual rail- way tonnage. There is no evidence to show that this commercial traffic would substantially increase - leaving little advantage for railway dis- enclavement. None of the iron ore concessionaires has plans for railway expansion or development, except in the event that such expansion would strictly relate to its mining operations. Three such prospects exist: (1) extension of either the Bong Mine or NIOC railway line to the Mt. Wologisi ore reserves; (2) extension of the LAMCO railway into the Guinea side of the Mt. Nimba ore; and (3) construction of a new railway from the Putu ore deposits-into any southeastern port. 111. These possible expansions may enhance the future prospects of more railways providing more public services. The Wologisi-Bong Mine railway would provide the most direct access and generate some demand for railway services from Monrovia to most of Lofa County for instance. The Putu railway would most probably serve timber concessions in Grand Gedeh, Sinoe and Maryland Counties. However, the highly specialized nature of the iron ore railways in particular, the inflexibility of railways in general, the widely dispersed residential pattern and the very small scale of economic activities in many parts of Liberia, make it less optimistic to view the railways as a primary cotmon carrier. V. AIR TRANSPORT A. General Background 112. Liberia is served by most major international airlines. Domestic air transport services are provided by the Liberian National Airline (LNA) and three small non-scheduled charter companies (Monrovia Airline Co.; Weasua Air Transport, and DATCO), all of which have 17 small aircrafts with a passenger capacity of 110. 113. The main airport in Liberia is Roberts International Airport (RIA) situated about 60 km from the capital, Monrovia. In 1970 about 5h,000 passengers and 1.4 million pounds (625 long tons) of freight were handled at RIA alone (see Table 9). The only other international airport is Spriggs Payne within Monrovia from which the Nigerian and Ghana Airways operate. In 1970 it handled about 37,000 passengers. 114. With its liberal "Open Door" policy Liberia is served by about 14 international carriers which land infrequently each week. This accounts for the rather high proportion of transit passengers (see Table 9). Inter- national passenger traffic increased from 3.9 million in 1964 to about 54.0 million in 1970, which represents an annual growth rate of about 5.3 percent. During the same period general cargo and mail traffic increased from 6.6 million pounds to 1h.3 million pounds - a rate of 13.8 percent per annum. - 22 - 115. The national air carrier operates services along the coast from four fields: RIA, Spriggs Payne, Sinoe and Cape Palmas. The air taxi operators cover these and many other interior small airfields. There is no specific control over the air taxi operators - either in an adminis- trative or a technical sense. There are no route restrictions, operating areas, no pricing policy, and no basic operational requirements defined. 116. The domestic air transport system developed without any planning. New connections were established, in response to temporary demand only, soon to be abandoned in search of new ones, where prospects seemed better. As soon as road access was established to places which were formerly accessible only by air, demand for air services naturally declined. With a negligible effective demand for air transport services at the country- side locations, it has been impossible to maintain regular air transport services. Even with about 100 domestic airfields, the nine county capitals of Liberia have no regular air link with Monrovia - the national capital. 117. The average domestic air fare of USO per passenger kilometer is within the higher end of a general range of selected fares in other African countries (see Table 10), a low fare of USi4/km for Tunisia and a high of USi9.5/km for Uganda. Since fares are not regulated in Liberia and the! load factor on most of the domestic routes are fairly high, it is reasorable to conclude that the current fare properly reflects operating costs plus a small margin to the industry. This implies that only higher load factors and larger aircraft could enable some reduction in fares. B. International Air Traffic and Facilities 118. A total of about 14 scheduled international airlines (12 from RIA and two from Spriggs Payne) operate in Liberia, of which six are African, one American, one Middle East and six European. The relatively small size of Liberia and the small population result in a low demand for international air services. Many airlines make only a few landings per week. Table S' indicates that inter-continental and regional passenger traffic has increased at an average of 5.3 percent per annum, while cargo and mail have increased at about 14.3 percent per annum from 1964-1970. This was consistent with other growth characteristics of the Liberian economy, but much less than the 10 percent passenger growth rate registered in most developing countries over the same period. 119. The volume of traffic handled at RIA seems quite'moderate over the years. In 1970, for instance, 53,500 international passengers were handled, 48 percent of whom used European airlines, 27 percent Pan Am, and 25 percent African airlines. Of about 5,042 aircraft movement during 1964-1970, 3,240 were international schedule operations - this implies an average of five landings and five take-offs per day. The data shows that about 150 passengers embarked and disembarked while 115 were in transit daily. 120. Roberts International Airport (RIA), located 40 miles southeast of Monrovia is the nation's major airport. All international flights (except Ghana and Nigerian Airlines) land and take off from it. Phase I development of this airport has just been completed. The U S$4.2 million - 23 - program involved runway extension by 2,000 feet, taxiway improvement, installation of instrumental landing,systems, provision of additional apron space, new control tower, fire station, new commdssary and an emergency power plant. 121. The Phase II development is now at the detailed engineering stage. At a cost of about US$196,000, Lyon Associates Inc. (Consultants) will study and design (a) rumnay overlay 04-22; (b) relocate the taxiway No. 4, LNA hanger, Spriggs Payne Runway and Aprons; (c) locate an appropriate housing site; (d) relocate Marshall Road and indicate means of providing all the new facilities with water supply. The services would include design and drawings, design analysis, general and special conditions, and unit bid format and documents. 122. Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have formed a joint Flight Information Region (FIR) with Flight Control Centers (FCC) at Roberts International Airport, Conakry (Guinea) and Freetown (Sierra Leone). This would provide positive airway control at flight levels above 200 feet. 123. Given the low volume of international traffic, the maintenance of the international airports in Liberia does not appear to be justified. Admittedly, Robertsfield is inconveniently distant from Monrovia, however its location allows ample room for future expansion, which Spriggs Payne does not. Moreover the roatd connections to Robertsfield are among the best in the country. Finally, the urban land adjacent to Spriggs Payne is too valuable to be used for runways. This airport should be limited to internal operations, particularly general aviation. C. Domestic Air Transport 124. One would conclude that the more the increases in international air traffic, the more likely domestic demand for air transport services would be, as international air travellers are more likely to use lccal air services in their business or leisure activities. However, this has not been the case in Liberia. While international and regional air traffic have been increas- ing at about 5.3 percent and 14.3 percent for passengers and cargo respectively per annum, no corresponding growth has been recorded for domestic air services - especially the scheduled carrier - LNA. 125. Data does not exist to allow an evaluation of traffic growth carried by the non-scheduled carriers in Liberia, but it is evident that the 15 percent annual decline of LNA's share of the domestic market was not offset by a higher or corresponding increase in the share of the air taxi companies (see Table 11). Instead, a plausible assumption could be made that either an absolute decline or no growth has occurred in the domestic air transport traffic on account of improved road access which has provided a cheaper alternative access to former captive users. 126. From Table 11, it can be seen that between 1960 and 1965, LNA's cumulative growth in terms of passenger miles flown was up 46 percent. From 1965 to 1970, passenger traffic has declined by about 77 percent - an annual average decrease of 15 percent. A similar decline in freight from 645,000 lb. in 1965 to 350,000 lb. was noticed in 1970. Again, no evidence suggests that the share of freight carried by the non-scheduled carriers was sufficient to counterbalance this decline. 127. The domestic aircraft fleet consists of LNA's two near obsolete DC-3s and 2F-27's and the air taxi companies' 11 Cessnas, two Beavers, two Apaches, a Beechcraft and a Seneca, all of which provide about 11C passenger seats. The data available, (only for LNA) indicates that while fairly high load factors (ranging from 50-99 percent) have been achieved on the Monrovia-Sinoe-Cape Palmas-Morjrovia shuttle, less than 10 percent load factors have persisted on the RIA-Spriggs Payne (Monrovia) route, in spite of the fact that a DC-3 seats only about 28 passengers. The non- scheduled crafts have a maximum passenger capacity of three to six persons and are likely to fare better against the larger DC-3s under the limited demand conditions prevailing in the domestic air services in Liberia. 128. Some of the more important strips scattered all over Liberia and accessible only to the light aircraft of the taxi companies are: Buchanan, River Cess, Robertsport (Lake Piso), Nimba, T,ologisi, and Zwedru. Many of them are in disrepair because of the low demand of air transport services which makes their upgrading unfeasible, but recently Robertsport, Zwedru and Foya have been improved to take larger aircraft. Domestic air transport has shown little, if any, growth during the past five years. The decision of the domestic carriers not to invest in new aircraft and facilities has been largely dictated by those market conditions. Forecast demand for domestic air transport services is very pessimistic. D. Conclusion 129. Adequate international air transport services are provided in Liberia by 1I major airlines at Spriggs Payne and Roberts International Airports. The Government's development plans concern improvements and additions of runways and aprons, other ground and terminal facilities, as well as navigational aids - some of which would also enhance civil aviation services. Nevertheless, the renovation of Spriggs Payne runway appears uneconomic. 130. The moderate growth in international traffic (passengers and cargo) is expected to continue for the next half decade, barring and policy reversal. This would result in a higher number of transit passengers spending a few days in Liberia, which, although no substitute for tourists, is beneficial to the economy. Wdhile Liberia does not directly influence international traffic, the marked. improvements at RIA, which now incorporate instrumental landing systems, runways that can handle every long-range jet aircraft, and latest air control systems, reinforce the above conclusion. All Monrovia international traffic might be relocated at this airport. 131. Domestic air transport plays a necessary but small role in Liberia's economy. LNA and three small non-scheduled carriers provide adequate domestic services, which have decreased over the years as - 25 - alternative access was established for the hinterland. The dominant domestic transport mode in Liberia is the road. Domestic air transport shoutld be directed to supplement roads in cases of extremely remote areas for which light aircraft is the least costly alternative. VI. SECTOR PLANNING AND COORDIiATION 132. There is no comprehensive plan for neither the entire transport sector nor the subsector in Liberia. Each transport project continues to be financed on the basis of its individual merits. No effort has been made to coordinate subsectors or modal activities. The highways, ports and civil aviation are still viewed as entities rather than parts of an entity. There has never been any general sector study to determine modal coordination and inter-intra-sector implications. Such an exercise is very useful as it helps to avoid modal conflict or duplication of investments and to indicate feasible means of modal complementarity with regards to a country's natural resources and development potential. 133. The need for such a study in Liberia cannot be postponed much longer without grave consequences because the primary modal infrastructures will soon be completed. Investments in the subsectors would have to shift to marginal projects within each mode, with a high probability of investment misallocation in that the benefits are usually less obvious and diffisult to assess. 134. Until 1971, transport functions were not considered important enough to deserve ministerial attention as there was no Ministry of Transpor- tation. Even after realizing the important role of transport, the functions were merely grafted on to an already large Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Although the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Transportation is charged with policy, regulation and planning of transport functions in Liberia, it is ill-equipped to perform these functions. The Ministry does not have the personnel capable to formulate the policy and plan the development of the transport sector. 135. The National Ports Authority and the Ministry of Public Works would continue to plan the development of the ports and highways respectively. The first effort to subsector planning by the Ministry of Public Works and the first in the entire transport sector was the "First Five-Year Highway Develop- ment and Maintenance Program, 1972". This program was put together in late 1972 from two consultants' (Sauti & Stanley) studies of: (1) Highway Organiza- tion and Maintenance, and (2) Highway and Bridge Feasibility Study of the Monrovia Port Area. In an attempt to strengthen the planning activities of MPW, the Bank Group is providing a transport planner as technical assistance in its current second highway project. With technical assistance in the highway subsector only, the entire transport sector would remain unplanned and discordant. - 26 - 136. Since there already is a Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs in Liberia, which in theory, is supposed to guide and coordinate national planning in all sectors, there is strong reason to suggest that transport sector planning and coordinating activities be performed in this Ministry. But, at present, the Ministry is understaffed, without a single professional staff member with experience in transport economics or planning and analysis. A necessary improvement of highway planning functions in the Ministry of Public Works does not, however, substitute or mitigate the need for transport sector planning and coordination. The last two functions will become more apparent and important as primary transport projects give way to marginal ones in which careful planning and analysis of alternatives is imperative. Table 1: VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND GASOLINiE CONSUMPTION, 1961-72 Vehicle Registration (units) Passenger Taxi- Gasoline Consumption Year Cars cabs Trucks Buses Total ('000 US gal.) 1961 - - - - 7,900 9,150 1962 - - - - 8,500 14,400 1963 _ - - - 9,280 _ 1964 - - - - 9,500 8,800 1965 - - - - 10,000 8,460 1966 5,762 1,728 2,795 1,447 11,732 10,730 1967 7,268 2,299 3,483 1,986 15,036 12,111 1968 8,919 3,434 4,543 2,785 19,681 14,340 1969 9,880 3,853 4,908 2,995 21,636 17,000 1970 9,377 4,735 5,234 3,864 23,210 19,000 1971 25,760* 20,900* 1972 28,500* 22,900* Average Annual Growth Rate 11.35% 10.65% Note: - = figures not available. * = estimated. Sources: SAUTI report, 1971 Motor Vehicle Division, Treasury Department, November 1972 Table 2: SELECTED AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT), 1971 ADT Road Section Sauti Stanley Monrovia - Sinkor 13,000 26,059 Monrovia - St. Paul River 12,000 19,568 Sinkor - Paynesville 4,862 7,263 Sinkor - ELWA 1,383 7,521 PaynesviUe - Gareysburg 1 ,920 Careysburg - Kakata 1,440 Tbtota - Gbanga 1,035 Obanga - Ganta 512 Gbanga - Voinjama 115 Ganta - Sweden 315 Zwedra - Harper 140 Zwedru - Greenville 120 Sources Stanley and Sauti studies. Table 3: OPERATING COSTS FOR PAVED RDADS (cents per mile) Vehicle Fuel Engine Oil Tire Depreci- Tvpe_ Consumption Consumption Wear ation Maintenance Total Car 1.1 0.1 0.7 5.5 1.6 9.0 Pick-up or Panel Truck 3.0 0.2 1.4 7.0 2.5 14.1 Stake or Van Truck 4.1 0.2 3.0 8.4 4.3 20.0 3-Axle Tr-Ack 3.0 0.2 4.7 10.1 7.4 25.4 4-Axle Truck 3.7 0.4 9.0 18.0 10.5 41.6 Bus 3.0 0.2 0.9 5.2 1.9 11.2 Source: Highway and Bridge Feasibility Study: Monrovia Port Area by Stanley, 1972. Table A-2. Table 4: ROAD MILEAGE IN LIBERIA, 1972 County Primary Secondary TItal Montserrado 295 535 830 Bong & Lofa 280 343 62:3 Nimba & Gedeh 187 208 395 Cape Mount 48 102 150 Bassa 75 125 200 Sinoe 125 25 150 Maryland 205 169 370 Concessions LAMCO 111 111 Firestone 684 684 L.A.C. 135 135 Liberia Company 43 43 Bong Mining Co. 42 42 Liberia Mining Co. 62 62 NIOC 78 78 Siga Lumba Co. 13 13 Maryland Logging Co. 6 6 L.I.F.C. 82 82 Grand Total 1,215 2,763 3,978 Source: Ministry of Public Works, Liberia. Table 5: NPA INCOME 1971-1972 (in US dollars) Free Port of Monrovia Pbrt of Greenville Pbrt of Cape Palmas January 548,823 February 485,014 March 561,180 April 532,979 May 459,609 June 459,738 July * 390,733* 31,118 August 414,111* 34,924 September 455,413* 27,853 October 437,174* 30,026 27,088 November 470,984* 35,682 24,393 December 422,771* 30.725 19.629 .638.529 190.328 71.110 * Excluding Interest earned and calculated. Prior to July 1, 1972 considered Freeport of Monrovia Income. July 11,852 August 16,124 September 20,663 October 14,612 November 13,203 December 14,852 291306 Source: National Port Authority, Liberia. Table 6: FR1GHT MOVEMENT - MAJOR PORTS (in thlousand long tozw) 1961 1964 1965 1966 1967 1966 1969 1970 1971 1972 Free Port of Monrovia 3,594 6,090 7,817 9,176 10,076 10,732 10,271 13,194 12,411 12,369 Port of Buchanan - 6,847 8,238 8,179 7,815 8,774 10,736 11,338 10,334 - Port of Greenville 11 12 13 14 12 33 11t 156 206 - -Port of Harper 23 25 29 28 26 37 55 74 67 Total - All Ports 3,628 12,974 16,09T 17,397 17,959 19,593 21,173 24,762 23,018 12,369 of which iron orc 12.0 15.1 16.3 17.2 18.9 20.3 23.2 20.9 22.6 Source: Economic Survey,, Mnistry of Planning and Economic Affairs, various issues. Table 7: GENERAL CARGO TONNAGE AT PORTS ('000 L/tons) Year Total Monrovia Buchanan Greenville Harper 1968 552.4 459.3 84.3 3.6 5.1 1969 74;8.6 508.3 218.3 13.2 8.6 1970 745.7 539.8 191.7 1.6 6.4 1971 661.3 538.8 123.2 1.5 2.6 1972 NA NA NA NA NA SHIPS CALLING 1968 876 763 91 10 12 1969 1,099 698 369 14 18 1970 777 695 62 6 14 1971 823 729 81 7 6 1972 NA NA NA NA NA Note: NA = not available Source: Quarterly Statistical Bulletin of Liberia, 1971 Summary. Table 8: NPA INCOME AND EXPENSES BY PORTS, 1970 - mid-1972 (in $ 000) Monrovia Greenville Harper 1970 Income 5,059.0 275.1 306.0 Expenses 3,417.0 187.5 406.6 Balance 1,642.0 87.6 (100.6) 1971 Income 5,466.0 330.5 281.3 Expenses 3,662.0 208.9 333.7 Balance 1,804.0 121.6 ( 52.4) 1972 Income 3,047.0 184.7 162.3 Expenses 2,558.o 112.2 110.6 Balance 489.o 72.5 51.7 Sources: NPA Annual Report, 1971-1972, pp. 26,27,31 and 34 Table 9: TRAFFIC MOVEMENT AT ROBERTS INTERNATTONAL AIRPORT (1964-1970) PASSENGERS ('000) 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 39.2 40.5 41.7 43.7 46.8 51.3 53.5 Increase: 3.3% 2.8% 6.2% 7.1% 9.6% 4.2% Transit 55.2 48.7 48.2 45.5 41.1 CARGO AND MAIL (:000 lb) 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 658.o 755.o 926.0 lool.o 1102.0 115h.0 1429.0 Increase: Cargo 14.7% 22.6% 8.1% 10.0% 4.7% 23.8% Mail 32.6% 15.8% 4.7% 9.1%d. 6.0% -0.6% Source: ICAO Interregional Project: Air Transport Economics of Liberia, 1971, p. 14 Table 10: DCMESTIC AIR FARE PER PASSENGER/kim: SELECTED AFRICAN COUNTRIES CCUNTRY SECTOR DISTANCE FARE PER PASSENGER/km g Tunis Entire Network 1,756 3.8 Mali Entire Network 3,740 5.4 Ghana Accra - Kumasi 210 5.4 Tamale - Kumnasi 320 5.0 Ethiopia Addis - Asmara 704 6.8 Hosana - Soddu 82 6.8 Mauritania Nouakchott - Tidjikja 481 7.1 Kaedi - Kiffa 229 7.1 Senegal Dakar - Ziguinchor 300 7.5 Dakar - St. Louis 185 7.4 Zambia Lusaka - Chipata 489 7.0 Livingstone - Sesheke 161 7.1 Guinea Entire Network 2,246 7.0 Liberia Entire Network 967 8.1 Nigeria Lagos - Benin 254 8.7 Kaduna - Lagos 636 8.7 Zaire Kinshasa - Inongo 417 8.8 Bumba - Kisanghani 360 8.7 Uganda Entebbe - Kasese 263 9.0 Entebbe - Murchison Falls 277 9.5 Source: ICAO Interregional Project: Air Transport Economics of Liberia, 1971, pp. 37-38 Table 11: VOLUME OF PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION (L.N.A.) Passengers Passenger miles Carried Performed 1960 1,750,000 1962 2,280,000 1964 15,293 2,560,000 1965 15,896 2,582,000 1966 13,333 2,750,600 1967/8 8,o60 1,809,200 1968/9 7,396 1,440,400 1969/70 6,891 1,436,200 Source: ICAO Interregional Project: Air Transport Economics of Liberia, 1971, p. 29 Table 12: DOMESTIC LQA.D FACTORS, 1970-1971 (Based on load per sector in both directions) 1970 ROB - MLW* MLW - SIN* SIN - CPS* MILW - CPA* August 7.1% 70.0% 44.7% 56.7% September 9.2% 82.5% 58.8% 54.7% October 9.0% 99.5% 82.3% 64.5% November 10.6% 99.6% 93.4% 76,4% December 8.9% 87.3% 73.3% 46.7% 1971 January 8.1% 70.4% 53.4% 60.6% February 6.7% 84.o% 63.6% 67.6% March 11.4% 73.6% 47.1% 57.5% April 6.8% 72.5% 55.9% 48.0% * ROB = Roberts International Airport; MLW = Spriggs Payne; SIN Sinoe; and CPS = Cape Palmas Source: ICAO Interregional Project: Air Transport Economics of Liberia, 1971, P. 33 Table 13: TRAFFIC FLOW DATA (1970) International Scheduled Passenger Services From MONROVIA to and v.v.: Embarked Disembarked Total Passenger/miles Performed ('000) Abidjan 2.925 3.116 6.041 2.785 Accra 2.481 2.241 4.722 3.376 Bamako 255 157 412 194 Bathurst 142 65 207 134 Brazzaville 18 37 55 115 Conakry 133 99 232 72 Cotonou 43 70 113 101 Dakar 1.117 971 2.088 1.570 Douala 235 215 450 632 Entebbe 56 123 179 541 Freetown 2.488 2.307 4.795 1.141 Johannesburg 141 97 238 861 Kinshasa 262 242 504 1.055 Lagos 1.260 1.454 2.714 2.619 Las Palmas 2.559 1.658 4.217 6.452 Nairobi 285 254 539 1.804 Tunis 719 205 924 2.298 AFRICA 15.19 13.311 28.430 25.750 Amsterdam 1.142 1.123 2.265 7.474 Brussels 371 292 663 2.127 Copenhagen 1.000 724 1.724 6.320 Dusseldorf 657 672 1.329 4.380 Frankfurt 133 107 240 778 Geneva 2.195 1.170 3.36-5 10.196 London 74 75 149 479 Madrid 268 355 623 1.526 Paris 685 558 1.243 3.777 Stockholm 284 75 359 1.435 Zurich 976 1.757 2.733 8.508 EUROPE 7.785 6.908 14.693 47.000 U.S.A.(New York) 3.992 3.460 7.452 34.003 Beirut 1.489 1.306 2.795 10.386 Jeddah 54 50 104 454 MIDDLE EAST 1.543 1.356 2.899 10.840 TOTALS 28.439 25.035 53.474 117.593* Estimation Source: Monthly Reports-Operations, Roberts International Airport I IBRD- 10254R L I B E R IA * , '~j TRANSPORTATION SANIGAL\>NJG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ SUDAN~~OR SIERRA LE44!D /I eNIGERIA ATAtiC OCAN S~ BEDD.~ E p~~~~~~~~~r PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM I --PROPOSED ROAD CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT P'ROGRAM I PoI*~~~~o~~ ~ ~ JN,0 ~~PAVED HIGHWAYS Q, ~~~~~~AALL WEATKE R ROADS / ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~------DRY WEATHER ROADS 908t DASObI by 0I vehid.i88 WIN l oah PA APCoIIOOI 0' ,>8,oo,o~~~~o~ ROADS UNDER CONSTRUCTION Y,SRoIohoo ,-. 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