Monrovia Quay Wall, Monrovia, Liberia

In 2010 the National Port Authority of Liberia awarded the Concession Agreement for operating the Freeport of Monrovia to APM Terminals (APMT). As part of the Concession Agreement, APMT had to construct a new Main Wharf in the Port. APMT awarded BAM International the Design and Construct contract for the Work. BAM International appointed Delta Marine Consultants (DMC) for the Basic- and Detailed Design of the Quay Wall.

The APMT Container Terminal at the Freeport of Monrovia, Liberia consists of a quay wall with a total length of 600 metres and a quay apron with a width of 40 metres. The new structure was to be constructed in front of an existing wharf structure that was constructed in the 1950’s. It was a suspended deck structure with a length of 610m and a width of 11.75m. The piles were steel H-piles with an approximate size of 14x15 inches and a concrete casing for the top part of the pile, which was affected by tidal water level variation. The new facility accomodates Panamax vessels of 55,000 DWT and 4000 TEU approximately and 65,000 DWT dry bulk vessels as maximum design vessels.

Role DMC

Throughout the tender process before contract award, the stage of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) with BAM International and APM Terminals finally resulting in basic and detailed design  as well as the stage of site engineering  during work execution DMC provided its design services to BAM International. It involved the following engineering disciplines: geotechnical, structural, material technology  and coastal.

The following structures and elements were part of the design scope of work:

• Combi wall with anchorage;
• Coping beams;
• Berthing analyses and fender selection;
• Interpretation of geotechnical investigations;
• Drainage gutters and oil water separator;
• Slope protection along wing walls;
• Temporary works such as: lifting provisions precast concrete elements, support structures for precast concrete formwork for the coping beam sections, compartment walls for phased construction of the quay.