Exporters will fund port rehabilitation: at long last, it seems that Liberia's ports, all of which are in a general state of disrepair, will be given a new lease of life to ensure the smooth export of rubber and iron ore. Neil Ford reports

African Business, April, 2008 by Neil Ford

Despite the post-election violence and political confrontation, JBIC is expected to stand by the agreement, providing an internationally accepted government is put in place as soon as possible.

The Japanese agency has spent at least three years working on the port plans and so would be reluctant to pull out of what is its flagship African project at this stage. One of the most interesting aspects of the port development is whether a private sector operator will be awarded a concession to operate the new container terminal.

Previous Kenyan governments have toyed with the idea of privatising the existing Mombasa terminals or contracting private companies to manage them. Political opposition has prevented such a move to date but in its project document JBIC indicates that it will give Nairobi advice on the "participation of private terminal operators".