According to reports, the arrival of the ferry is expected to improve the poor ferry services along the Banjul-Barra route.
It is further reported that the new private ferry will only be ferrying vehicles for the time being and has the capacity to take over 70 vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Kunta Kinteh Ferry which has been under repair work for the past two months, on Friday 10 May 2024 resumed operations.
It could be recalled that the Kanilai Ferry on Friday 12 April 2024 experienced an engine failure near the turning buoy en route to the Barra Lander, resulting in the Gambia Ferry Services withdrawing it from service for repair works with immediate effect.
The withdrawal of the Kanilai Ferry and the maintenance of the Kunta Kinteh Ferry at the time meant that there was no ferry service across the Banjul and Barra route for nearly a month.
This unforeseen situation left travellers with no other option than to cross the Banjul-Barra route vie canoes rather than spending hours and cost involved in using the Senegambia Bridge.
However, The Gambia government through the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) last month signed a contract with DAMEN Shipyard for the construction and design of two new green solar powered ferries.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) provided the grant funding to procure one new green solar powered ferry while the government of The Gambia procured the other through a supply credit arrangement with DAMEN Shipyard.
The ferries are expected to be delivered after 16 months of the signing of the contract.
