The Seaport expansion will create more business opportunities for The Gambia and her neighbours. The ports expansion and its facilities will present Gambia as a hub for business and trade transactions in the sub-region.
In the process, the economy of the country will be greatly enhanced as more cargos and other goods shipped into the country.
Mr President, the seaport expansion is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements which is expected to address the need for sustainable management and operations of The Gambia’s port facilities given the climate risk associated with sea-level rise, perennial dredging required due to increased sedimentation in Banjul and the limited capacity for expansion and congestion in the capital city. Indeed this is a laudable initiative and investment for our nation.
Mr President, currently business people in the country are undergoing serious constraints trying to import goods into The Gambia because most of the time they have to collect their goods from the Dakar port, which cost them a lot of money in CFA for clearing their goods and transporting the consignments to Banjul. The cost of this clearing and transportation of goods from the ports in Dakar would always lead to the increment of prices of goods and commodities, or inflation, in the country and hardship for the people.
Mr President, this project is very vital for our country; therefore the Banjul Ports need better infrastructure to be modernised like the Dubai Ports.
We hope, with this new tender, the Government has chosen the right people to execute and improve the ports. The PPP concessionaires are Albayrak and Negmar Consortium of Turkey with the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) serving as both a guarantor and shareholder in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Maritime Transport Business Services (MTBS) of Netherlands is the Transaction Adviser which assisted the Government in the bidding process through the PPP Technical Evaluation Committee comprising representatives from OP, GPA, GPPA, GRA, MOJ, MTWI, MOFEA, MOTIRIE, GIEPA and the PPP Directorate and the Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry.
Mr President, in a related development, the Ferry Services should be given a great attention.
Currently, most of the ferries are wonky and becoming obsolete. The country therefore needs new ferries to provide safe, secure and effective services through partnerships. New ferries can be procured through the seaport initiative.
There is also the need to upgrade the Ferry terminals in Banjul and Barra to a standard state with proper toilet facilities put in place.
Finally Mr President, most parts of The Gambia don't have proper drainage systems in place. There is an urgent need therefore for authorities of KMC, West Coast Region, Ministry of Works and National Roads Authority (NRA) to collaborate to improvise ways of having adequate drainage facilities especially for Westfield, Churchill’s Town, Ebo Town, Tallinding and other affected areas in the KMC, as well as for the market and garage in Brikama.
Whenever it rains, most streets, roads and compounds are flooded to a complete distortion of movements and business transactions in the affected areas.
Action should thus be taken quickly to correct this abnormal situation.
Good day!