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The development was unveiled following President Adama Barrow’s recent inspection of a number of ongoing infrastructure projects, including The Gambia College and the ongoing USET construction project in Brikama, medical facilities, youth and sports projects.
In an exclusive interview Key PointsMinistry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) Secretary Professor Pierre Gomez said the advance payment will expedite the project awarded to Krubally Construction Limited.
He said the USET project in Brikama was funded by the African Centre of Excellence and the World Bank.
“We finally paid an advance payment of Dh30 million to the contractor to expedite the works at USET in Brikama and complete the project this year,” he revealed.
“The contractor said they were having financial problems and since we had the funds, we decided to give them an advance and ask the technicians to do the follow-up work so that we could complete the task on time.”
“We hope that the project will be completed a few months before the inauguration ceremony in February 2025. We don’t want to wait until 2025 to start construction,” he stressed.
Professor Gomez further encouraged contractors, consultants, supervisors and all stakeholders to ensure the project is completed this year. He said their goal is to return to the Faraba campus in 2025 to focus on the second phase.
Speaking about the progress of the Gambia Academy, he said: “We need to build dormitories in partnership with the MRC Holland Foundation and Brighter Future. We have already renovated the existing dormitories and are currently building new dormitories which will increase from 204 to 336 in the first phase.”
“Once the second phase is completed, we will double the number of hostels,” he said. “We will have 500 dormitories so that students will have the opportunity to stay at The Gambia College.”
Professor Gomez said President Barrow encouraged all stakeholders, including contractors and consultants to redouble their efforts to ensure the completion of the project before the end of the year as they noticed the slow progress of the ongoing works.
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