Addressing the gathering at the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Barrow recalled that the Sabach Sanjal community once had prominent government officials such as lawmakers, ministers and even a vice president, but the construction of such a “magnificent road project” never came during their time until now.
“For a period of 50 years, Sabach Sanjal has been waiting for such a project and it never materialised, but within five to six years, my government is able to construct standard road within the entire community,” he stated.
The President thus commended the National Roads Authority (NRA), the contractor, the consultant and the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure. According to him, the contractor did a “very good job” and as a result, the government has trust in him and desires to continue working with him.
Moreover, he urged the people of Sabach Sanjal to be united and support his government. He further assured them that if they are united, anything they seek, they would get from his government.
Ebrima Sillah, the minister for Transport, Works and Infrastructure, said prior to this intervention, the condition of the roads in the area were already hugely deteriorated due to a number of factors associated with the undulating terrain, through which the laterite gravel road network was built.
According to him, one of such factors was the absence of adequate drainage, thus the issue of drainage was one of the highly considered factors in the design process of these just completed roads.
“As such, a total of 38 box culverts have been constructed to ensure adequate drainage of both the the main and access roads. Shallow drains are also constructed to ease the proper movement of water from the road structure to outfalls.”
Speaking further, minister Sillah said for the fact that a greater part of the roads traverse settlement areas in SaraKunda, Pallen and Dibba Kunda, the design and implementation of the road was conceived with road safety issues in mind.
In that regard, he continued, specific road markings, signs, guardrails and speed bumps have been constructed at strategic locations as part of a conscious, strategic effort to improve safety on the road.
Hence, he commended President Adama Barrow for his continuous support to advance the trajectory of the development of infrastructure outlay of The Gambia.
Minister Sillah also commended the Ministry of Finance for providing the necessary funds to finance the project entirely from the national budget.
He also extended special thanks to the contractor, the consultants, the governor and staff of the North Bank Region, and the local community for the immense support that led to the successful completion of the project on time.
Ali Arezki, the contractor said the 54 km road has been designed with high standard and high quality sign boards. He added that AREZKI has and would always ensure the execution of quality work and standards within the rules of the company.
On behalf of the company, Ali Arezki expressed delight and gratitude to the government for the trust and confidence bestowed on the company (AREZKI GROUP) to assume the implementation and realisation of such a project.
