Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows:
Enugu, often called the Coal City, owed its early urban development to the discovery of sub-bituminous coal in the Udi Ridge in 1909. Commercial mining commenced under the colonial administration in 1916 at the Iva Valley mine, primarily to fuel the expanding railway network and naval vessels. To facilitate transport, the eastern railway line was constructed, linking the mines directly to the coastal port at Port Harcourt, which was established specifically for coal export. By the late 1950s, coal production peaked at over 900,000 metric tonnes annually, employing thousands of miners. However, the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri in 1956 and the subsequent Nigerian Civil War caused a severe decline in domestic coal demand as power plants and locomotives transitioned to petroleum products. Consequently, mining operations slowed drastically, leading to the closure of several main shafts by the late twentieth century.
According to the passage, why was the port at Port Harcourt originally created?
- To provide a coastal facility dedicated to shipping out coalAnswer
- BTo refine crude oil extracted from Oloibiri for power generation
- CTo manufacture naval vessels and locomotives for the eastern railway
- DTo serve as the primary administrative capital of the Udi Ridge region