By Yunus S Saliu
As work progresses on Hakalang Road in the North Bank Region, the Minister of Transport, Works, and Infrastructurewho is currently on a nationwide site visit of all ongoing projects under his ministry disclosed that Albreda and Juffurehcommunities will benefit from Hakalang Road construction project.
Minister Ebrima Sillah, who visited the ongoing construction of the 84.5-kilometer Nuimi Hakalang Loop and Secondary Roads in the North Bank Region (NBR), said his Ministry has discussed with the contractor to do the road leading to AlbredaTenda and Juffureh Tenda, which is about 2kms.
These two places, he noted, can boost tourism, adding that efforts were underway to make the road going to the family house of Kunta Kinteh motorable, comfortable, and safe, notingthat there is a historical mosque in Juffureh village, about 800 meters away from the highway.
“This mosque was built or initiated by Alex Haley, author of ROOTS but was completed by Louis Farrakhan of the famous Nation of Islam in the US,” explained Minister Sillah.
He expressed optimism about the construction of the road,saying it will be completed by May or early June 2024.
“The project is still on time, on course, on budget, and also on timeline. So really, we are very optimistic, looking at the progress of work on this road. The Nuimi Hakalang Loop and Secondary Roads would be completed by 31st May 2024,” he assured while applauding the contractor for the “quality work”.
Meanwhile, Sulayman Sumareh Janneh, Deputy Managing Director of the National Roads Authority (NRA), pointed outthat the majority of the workers are locals while the representative of the employer said they have over 150 workers at the project site.
The Hakalang Loop and Secondary Roads cover Buniadu to Kuntaya, Albreda to Fass Omar Sahor, Njabarr Kunda, and Benghally to Bafuloto.