Gambia Infrastructure: Building Foundations for Tomorrow
There is an obvious commitment to build, develop and improve
on the infrastructure base of The Gambia as its development
and maintenance attracts huge government investment and attention.
Hundreds of million dollars have been pumped into various
projects designed to enable the presence of the critical level
of infrastructure that serves a necessary catalyst for improved
and increasing private sector activity, especially as the
country positions itself to becoming the trade gateway to
the West African Market.
The campaign for infrastructure improvement pervades all
of the Gambia’s sectors, with an underlying effort to
retain the best of its structures and reinvent the rest. Changes
and developments are apace to endow every division of the
economy with the appropriate indices that befit 21st century
functioning. Road projects number into scores, sited at strategic
areas in both urban and rural centres, they are designed to
aid and ease transportation and distribution logistics, attract
investments, stimulate agriculture and industry, promote the
generation of employment and reduce congestion and traffic
volumes on the existing roads. Other envisaged functions of
the road projects are the enhancement of the tourism industry
and encouragement of the export industry.
Some of the road projects involve the construction of new
roads, giving a better and shorter link between destinations
and opening up new areas for commercial activities. Others
simply involve an extension, widening and strengthening of
existing roads to adequately cater for increasing traffic.
There are also lesser roads projected to facilitate better
access to health care, basic services and communication procedures
around the country. Provincial metropolis are not left out,
newly completed roads in the Upper River Division has opened
up the border town of Basse for business, making it easier
to transact goods and services between Gambia and Senegal.
Particular examples of the road projects include the Kombo
Coastal Roads entailing the construction of a number of roads
in and around the new Tourism Development Area (TDA). Almost
completed, the roads make it possible for holidaymakers to
journey directly form the planes to their hotels. It has,
in addition, provided access to some of the most beautiful
areas in The Gambia.
The Kerewan Road project, including a bridge, is billed for
completion by February 2001. Jointly funded by the Gambian
and Taiwanese governments, the project will facilitate access
to an erstwhile difficult area, stimulate agriculture and
industry and stem the rural-urban drift. Another $16 million
investment will see the entire road stretch from the Airport
to Banjul city transformed into a first-class dual-carriage
way with a single-line extension going up to Madinabar, just
started, the road is expected to link the export processing
zones near the Banjul seaport at and the Yundum airport in
15 minutes, thus facilitating export and import procedures
in the Trade Gateway initiative.
The government is also setting up a Highway Authority in
collaboration with the European Union, the organisation will
be responsible for developing, maintaining and sourcing funds
for Gambia's road network. The Highway Authority is also expected
to create the modalities and environment for private sector
participation in road construction.
Air transport is also very high on schedule. There is an
on-going modernisation project of $21 million aimed at improving
and expanding Gambia's aviation facilities. The project will
double the aircraft packing capacity; create additional taxiways
to expedite movement on and off the runway and provide for
the generation and operation of power supply system within
the airport; an area welcoming private-sector involvement.
Other components of the modernisation exercise will improve
and permit for a technological update of Air Traffic Services
both at equipment and management levels. Funded jointly by
the Kuwaiti Fund and the Arab Bank for African Development,
the project represents the second phase in the implementation
of the Airport Master Plan, the first phase of which resulted
in the new terminal building inaugurated in 1997.
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