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Momodou
Denmark
11828 Posts |
 Posted - 04 May 2006 : 13:16:46
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WORKS ON SERREKUNDA – MANDINA -BA ROAD WILL BE FINISH SOON
by Nathalie Guerra
Most roads in The Gambia are in poor condition. Many roads projects are going on, but the constructors are facing a lot of difficulties.
At the north bank the road from Barra to Kerewan is finished. The construction of the road from Kerewan to Farafenni (59 km) started in may 2005 and if everything goes like planned Mr. Lamin Sanneh, the Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Works and Construction, hopes it will be finished in June of this year. The financing of the roads happened through funds received from the I.D.B. (Islamic Development Bank) and the Gambian government. Present plans include a trunk road from Farafenni to Lamin Koto over a distance of 104 km. This project started three years ago but is delayed because the contractors faced problems with finding the right materials. The road should be finished around July 2006. The Arabic Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Kuwait, OPEC and the Gambian government are the donors. Studies, financed by Kuwait, are going on to define the road project to connect Georgetown with the Eastern part of the country. As soon as enough donors are found, the contractors will start to build this road. Mr Sanneh hopes this will be by the end of August of this year.
The situation of the roads of the South Bank is worse. At the moment, two projects are going on: the construction of the road from Serrekunda to Mandina Ba and the construction of the road from Mandina Ba to Soma. The latest started three months ago and Mr Sanneh says it will take approximately three years to be finished. The contractor for this road project is M.A Kharafi. The construction of the road from Serrekunda to Mandina Ba started 6 years ago, and is not completed yet. The road covers a distance of 28 km. The contractor is C.S.E. (Compagnie de Sahel d´Entreprise). The donors are the I.D.B., OPEC and the Gambia government. According to Mr. Sanneh it took so long because the scoop of the works increased as they faced organisation problems with the contractor. The construction of a road in a crowded urban area brings a lot of practical problems. The first consultant, UNITEC, is replaced by STUDI international. Mr. Sanneh things the road will be finished in June of this year. At the moment, works are progressing well. They are working on the sidewalks; the pavement of the roads, the street- and traffic light’s and within two weeks the asphalt works can start.
Mr Karamo Jaiteh, the Acting Deputy Director of the Department of State for Works and Construction, confirms they faced many problems concerning the construction of the road from Serrekunda to Mandina Ba. Studies for this road started in 1994 and in 2000 construction works took place. The main problem was the funding of the project. To solve the funding problem, more donors had to be searched. It took one year to write and send letters to institutions that might become donors. During this time, the construction of the road stopped and the prices rose. They started with a budget of 92 million dalasi, but in the meantime, a budget of 160 million dalasis is needed to complete the works. The first consultant UNITEC would not proceed because the budget became too high, and another consultant had to be found. The project was split into two phases: the consultant UNITEC completed phase 1. Phase 2 was under consultancy of STUDI International. The donors of this project are the I.D.B., OPEC and the Gambia government. Other problems they had to deal with are the organisation problems with C.S.E. Also most construction materials are imported from neighbouring countries and often problems with the ferry occurred to get the materials on time. Mr. Karamo stresses the fact that all services like old water pipes; cables for electricity and telephone had to be taken out and removed to replace them by new ones. But at the moment, he is positive about the evolution of the works: “the production is going faster and the organisation of works has become better. Once we finished the road in the crowded urban area, the works will speed up. I think at least within two months the construction of the road will be finished.”
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 34/2006, 4-7 May, 2006
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