The port has major significance to the history and economic development of the nation . Given the importance of the port to the national economy , and the previously poor facilities of the port , a great deal of investment occurred in the 2010s . This facilitated the growth of the mining industry in the country , with the exportation of bauxite . Plans to develop the port to support the shipping of bauxite go back to at least 1983 , when a $ 47.4 million project was announced . The port 's Pidjiguiti docks were the site of the Pidjiguiti massacre , which took place on 3 August 1959 , when police shot the dockworkers , killing 50 and wounding over 100 people . The stevedores were on their first strike , organized by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ( '' Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde '' , PAIGC ) , marking the beginning of strong resistance against the Portuguese colonial authority . A large , black , fist monument commemorates the massacre . Several older buildings remain around the port area , including the 18th century military barracks and old prison
Pidjiguiti massacre
Pidjiguiti massacre
Port of Bissau