The
National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) yesterday signed a contract with
Wartsila on the replacement of Wartsila engine at the Brikama Power Station.
Speaking
at the signing ceremony held at the Kairaba Beah Hotel, Baba Fatajo, Managing
Director of NAWEC, said they had a national brainstorming session to validate
the energy sector roadmap in the past two weeks.
The
objective was to find a durable, sustainable and quick solution to the energy
need, he stressed, adding that the document serves as their principal guiding
policy document and has long, medium and short-term solutions.
Mr
Fatajo said the occasion marks as a significant step in the realisation of
their short-term action plans of stabilizing power supply to the population.
“We
are gathered to sign an EPC contract of replacement of an 8.9MW generator at
the Brikama II Power Plant. This will in no small measure boost our generating
capacity in the very short-term,” he declared.
He
disclosed that the project would be completed between 6 to 8 months and is part
of the World Bank funded project dubbed Gambia Energy Support Project (GESP)
being implemented by NAWEC, at a tune of 2 million Euros.
He
disclosed that once completed, they would have a brand new Wartsila engine.
Mr
Fatajo emphasised that the ceremony represents a clarion testimony of their
unfettered resolve to provide short as well as immediate remedial measures to
the energy challenges.
Upon
completion, he declared, it would serve as a significant upward boost to their
present capacity and would in no small measure satisfy the ever increasing
demands of their dear customers.
“We
consider electricity as a human right that should be reliable and accessible to
all. I wish to reiterate our continuous resolve to meeting the energy
aspirations of our citizenry that they deserve,” he emphasised.
He
thanked the World Bank group for the intervention at their most critical time
of need, saying electricity generation, transmission and distribution is a very
capital intensive venture.
For
his part, Ouseynou Ndiaye, sales and marketing, Wartsila West Africa, said they
are pleased to partner with NAWEC in the rehabilitation of electricity supply
in The Gambia.
He
thanked NAWEC for partnering with them and for trusting them, pledging that
they would deliver as expected as electricity is a basic need for every human.
Momodou O. Njie, permanent secretary at the
Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, noted that in line with their set objectives
of providing adequate and reliable power supply to the people of the country,
several carefully chosen strategies are being employed to ensure sustainable
and appropriate solutions are provided to the energy challenges.
“We
are pleased to note that a brand new generator will be put at our disposal to
boost the supply capacity of NAWEC,” he declared.
“All these efforts represent a clarion
testimony of government’s determination to resolve the energy crisis sooner
rather than later,” he added.
He
said the energy sector remains one of the most important priorities of the
Gambia government, taking into account its centrality in national development.
“Government
is resolved to transform NAWEC and make it financially viable, robust and
efficient, capable of responding to the energy needs and aspirations of the
people of The Gambia,” he stated.
He
disclosed that the Government intends to intensify efforts of renewable energy
use through private sector investment with a view to cutting down on NAWEC’s
operational cost and make electricity affordable to the population.
