Speaking on Wednesday during his inspection tour of road project sites in the Lower River Region (LRR), Sillah stated that the “communities are happy” and appreciated the efforts of the government.
Road construction is part of the overall development agenda of President Barrow to ensure that road infrastructure and development in general get to the doorstep of every community, the Minister said.
Explaining his assessment of the Kabada ongoing road construction, Minister Sillah said Barrow’s government is constructing about 111kms in the whole of Kabada comprising Kiang and Jarra.
“The construction of lot 3 is contracted to the Chinese company that constructed the roads and bridges in URR,” he said. “They are so fast and we are hopeful that it will be completed within the next two months.”
At Kemoto, Minister Sillah stated that lot 2 of the Kiang West road project was contracted to Gai Construction, who have been doing a “great job”, thus he is hopeful that the sealing of the remaining sections of the road would soon start in earnest.
“Kemoto is a very important fishing community and could have contributed immensely to the economy of the country had there been a good road infrastructure,” the works minister reasoned, saying: “This is the first time in the history of this region we are constructing this type of road.”
He also highlighted that the community’s request for an extension of the road to the river landing site to avail boats the opportunity to anchor at close proximity. He said the demand made by the community would be considered.
Sulayman Sumareh Janneh, deputy managing director of the National Roads Authority (NRA), thanked the Works Minister and President Barrow for seeing road infrastructure as a fundamental part of national development. He said “one of the most important aspects” of the project is the timeline.
“We have seen tremendous progress within the short timeline,” he recounted, saying: “We have noticed that we have lots of Gambian contractors who are participating at a very high and impressive level, competing with the international contractors. That’s a change and the days of constructing roads that would take ages without finishing are over in the country.”
Accompanied by officials from his Ministry and the NRA, Minister Sillah visited the Kabada road, Sankandi-Kemoto, Kalagi Kamangka and Dasilamin Singajore construction sites.
