The Gambia’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr. Fafa Sanyang, has informed that the Gambia Government has mobilized US$200 million for extension of access to electricity in all the regions of the Gambia.
He made the announcement on Monday, 24th May 2021 while presiding over the signing ceremony of the 30Kilovolts medium voltage transmission line from Laminkoto to Diabugu, covering the districts of Sandu and Sami–between NAWEC and MBH Power Limited. The contract, Sanyang pointed out, would cover 46 villages two Districts for the first time.
Sanyang stated: “The contract is worth US$8.2 million and is financed by World Bank (WB), European Investment Bank and the European Union (EU). This is part of our planned project to achieve universal access to energy policy of the government, and part of government’s initiative to provide ‘Energy for All’ by 2025.”
Minister Sanyang also told his audience the “planned project will provide electricity to 685 villages across the country”, reasoning it’s all geared towards bringing the same level of development to all corners of the country, in order to provide inclusive socioeconomic development and growth. He added it’s noteworthy to mention that the government has mobilized this amount, through its bilateral and multilateral partners, to provide electricity to the whole country by 2025.
At that juncture, he declared, “To this end, the government, through its bilateral and multilateral partners, have mobilized US$200 million to provide electricity across the entire country.” He said he’s pleased to inform that gathering that, the survey for Lower River Region (LRR), Upper River Region (URR), North Bank Region (NBR) and other parts of Central River Region (CRR) had been completed. Procurement, the minister went on, had also been initiated for similar infrastructures to be provided in those villages, and that works are ongoing in Nyamanarr, to provide electricity through a mini-grid.
“We have an ambitious plan to achieve universal access by 2025; therefore, we should avoid delays with the project for timely implementation. I congratulate NAWEC and MBH Power Limited for the milestone achievement,” the Minister of Petroleum and Energy stated.
