By Yusupha Jobe
The Minister of Tourism and Culture has stated that the government of President Adama Barrow through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture will construct 5 major hotels in rural areas of The Gambia.
Hamat NK Bah told Kerr Fatou over the weekend that the planned construction of the five major hotels in the rural areas of the country has been within the government tourism development plans since the coming into power of the new Gambia led by President Adama Barrow.
He added that the poor road infrastructures including other structural facilities around the up country hampered the early start of laying the foundation stones for the constructions of the planned 4 stars hotels in the interior of the country. He added further that since the coming of the coalition government in 2017, he said the National Development Plan has in it development of the tourism industry.
“We have planned to construct 5 major hotels across all regions in the country to make sure that we have 4-star hotels of 40 rooms each. And these are all middle-class hotels for development of the country’s tourism industry,” he disclosed.
He affirmed that the Ministry has just laid the foundation stone of one of the 4-star hotels in Barra last Thursday and this will soon be followed by the construction of two hotels in the hinterland of The Gambia and all the constructions will go at the same time. And nothing can stop these constructions,” he said.
The project of the Hakalan Road construction, he noted, will also include the construction of Fort Bullen jetty and Kunta Kinteh Island to revive the already lost historic site of the country’s tourism sector.
“The securing of a new project we had with one of the American construction company to revive the James Island and Fort Bullen will help improve the inland tourism development sector of the country.
“So, we have seen all these developments since we came into power and we know this is the right moment for us as a Ministry to complete all these major developments under the tourism industry,” he stated.