“Gantry is a robotic crane with steel tires and can unload a ship in less than a day,” Bah said.

He added that everything about the extension project at the Water Quay will take at least 2 years, but that they have already taken 1 year on the work and have done at least 90% of it, noting that Sierra Leone will be receiving bigger ships when the cranes are in place.

“When we finish the extension of the new terminal we will install the new type of cranes that are used everywhere around the world,” Bah said.

According to Bah the terminal extension and arrival of Gantry Cranes can boost the economy of the country because it will stop trans-shipment at sea which is why big ships cannot enter the quay unless they can berth at bigger port facility. But with the extension and erection of Gantry Cranes, bigger ships will be coming to the country with lots of goods that would be cheaper.

“The terminal extension and arrival of the Cranes is the biggest project that has ever come to Sierra Leone,” Bah said.