By: Arret Jatta
The Managing Director of The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Ousman Jobarteh, yesterday revealed at a press conference organized by the Ministry of Information that the Gambia government has made a 20% down payment for the purchase of one new ferry out of the two they are planning to buy.
“The government and the GPA have already signed a shipbuilding contract with the Damen Shipyard of the Netherlands for the design and build of two new green ferries. In terms of dimension, they are of the same type as the Kunta Kinteh ferry. We have made a 20% advance payment through assistance from the African Development Bank in July this year,” Jobarteh explained.
Mr Jobarteh added that the construction of this particular ferry is supposed to last 16 months.
“We expect that by December 2025, the first of the new ferries would’ve been delivered to The Gambia,” he said.
The Gambia Ports Authority, Jobarteh also stated, will directly finance the construction of the second ferry.
“The second ferry is the one that is being financed directly by GPA. The shipbuilding contract has been signed already with Damen Shipyard. We are in the process of concluding on the financing bid. So, that is what is remaining now. So, once we get that financing, it will also follow the same 16 months of construction,” he further explained.
Jobarteh went on to update the press on the activities of GPA by stating that the government has taken a decision, and the GPA has entered into a concession agreement with an investor from the Islamic Republic of Turkey, to modernize the Port of Banjul and construct a new deep-sea port in Sanyang village in the south coast of The Gambia.
Mr. Jobarteh explained that this has been done with the view of enhancing efficiency at the port and ensuring that the Port of Banjul remains relevant in an ever-increasingly competitive port environment.
He went on to reveal that the Port of Banjul first conceived the expansion program way back in 1994 when a master plan that looks at its capacity improvement needs that will enable it to handle its businesses in a more efficient manner was prepared.
That master plan, according to Jobarteh, was not implemented due to the huge cost involved and the unavailability of funding “which posed a serious challenge”.
Jobarteh noted that in 2017, a new master plan was commissioned and it was won by a company from the Netherlands called Royal Haskoning through an international tender.
“By 2017, they came out with a recommendation that the Port needs to do immediate capacity improvement in three areas. That is one, to extend the ship’s accommodation. We call them jetties because currently, we can handle three ocean-going vessels, and there was a need to extend it further,” heexplained.