The development was unveiled following the recent inspection tour by President Adama Barrow to some ongoing infrastructural developments which include the Gambia College and the ongoing USET construction project in Brikama, health facility, youth and sports projects.
In an exclusive interview with The Point, Prof. Pierre Gomez, the minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST), said the advanced payment will accelerate the project which was awarded to Krubally Construction Company Ltd.
He stated the USET project in Brikama is bankrolled by the Africa Center for Excellence and the World Bank.
“We ended up giving the contractor D30 million advanced payment to speed up the work at the USET in Brikama and complete the project this year,” he revealed.
“The contractor said they had financial issues, so since we have the funds, we decided to give them advanced payment but also asking the technicians to do the follow-ups so that we meet the deadline.”
“We want it complete months before the inauguration date which shall be in February 2025. We do not want to enter year 2025 with this project,” he emphasised.
Prof Gomez further encouraged the contractor, consultant, the supervisors and all stakeholders involved to ensure the project is completed this year. He said that they aim to go back to Faraba Campus and focus on the second phase in 2025 after all.
Speaking further on the progress of the Gambia College, he said: “We needed to have dormitories with MRC Holland Foundation and Brighter Future. We have renovated the current dormitories and we are now building new dormitories moving from 204 to 336 for the first phase.”
“When second phase is done, it will help us to double up,” he said. “We will go up to 500 dormitories so that students will have the possibilities for accommodations at the Gambia College.”
Prof. Gomez stated that since they noticed the slow progress of the ongoing work as per expectations, President Barrow encouraged all stakeholders to redouble their efforts including the contractor and consultant to ensure that they complete the projection before the year ends.
