Lamin A. Bojang Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Works and Construction

Bridges, roads, buildings, railway, ports and airports: The Gambia is flexing its infrastructure strength, laying, in the process, the foundations to support Vision 2020 and its bid to establish itself as a regional trade gateway. ‘As far as infrastructure is concerned, we have the port and airport expansion, the bridge work across the country, and private contractors can invest in them or become the financers,’ says the man overseeing all this construction frenzy

The Gambia is a country under construction. You can see it wherever you look: to the west, the port is growing, scurrying to keep up with rising demand. Around the capital, the airport is gleaming with new facilities, a repaved and newly-lit runway and a new Free Zone. Along both banks of the Gambia River, heavy machinery grinds daily to lay new roads. New hotels, new buildings and new homes are going up, and they are bigger and better quality than ever.

The country’s Vision 2020, in which it aims to be a modern, developed state by that year, is literally visible on a daily basis. Lamin A. Bojang is The Gambia’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Works and Construction. In short, he is the man charged with overseeing this beehive of activity. Here he speaks on the most important developments now going on in the country, and what opportunities exist for foreign companies to become involved.

Infrastructure is fundamental to the modernization and competitiveness of a nation, and is the first thing an investor will look at. What is current state of infrastructure in The Gambia?

When it comes to road transport, right now we are building the roads on the south end [of the river], so within 12 or 18 months, you will be able to reach any part of the country by car. We are also working on the airport. We aim to have an airport that is as good as any airport in the region in the sense of size and with state-of-the-art infrastructure. We have a good ICAO rating. Even the FAA has given us security clearance. This is very important for us. These days security for airports is very important. If you do not have that kind of clearance, you cannot operate fully; fortunately for us, we have it. You can depart from Gambia to any destination in the West. We ensure that security is guaranteed. We have a good port too, and right now we have a project for port expansion. The only aspect of the infrastructure which we have not addressed yet is the river port. There is still no construction on that. We are also looking at the possibility of putting a railway system in place. This has to try to link up with the hinterland of the West of Africa from Senegal all the way to Mali.

What is the priority at the moment?

Right now, the priority is road construction. It is a huge project. The roads need a lot of maintenance. The network had been left to decay. Much of it just fell apart. We are trying to implement a better maintenance system. We are hoping to connect communities that have never had roads before. The key role of this department is to make sure that the road network will be reinstated, and we have two contracts at the moment. One end section is being built by Kharafi Group. It is important to have another investor there. It would make a big difference as both banks of the river would be fully covered.

What opportunities are available for foreign investors?

One of the projects we are looking at is building a major bridge to Senegal. Senegal has two sides, the north and the south, and it has to cross that. Transport traffic is high so this is one of the main things we are working on. As far as infrastructure in concerned, we have the port and airport expansion, and the bridge work across the country, and private contractors can invest in them or become the financers. One of the key things that our president has in mind is the development of a government that allows the private sector to lead in the country. The private sector is really taking the lead role in driving the economy.

Is the necessary infrastructure in place to support the Gateway Project, which seeks to establish the country as a major export and trade center?

I think there is still room for improvement. We have developed the Free Zone at the airport. We have warehouses there, and that is part of the infrastructure. I think a lot of work can still be done in that area, though. We will take the initiative to develop this. There is a lot of land that is well placed both for airport and seaport. This can develop fast into an expanded area for the free zones.

In 2006, the construction sector grew by 40%. Do you think this growth will continue?

When we look at the construction sector, we have more or less two sectors. We have the construction of roads or bridges. Those are big projects, in which we are able to use international contractors. Then we have a lot of small and medium-sized contractors, who are highly-skilled. That is one of the sectors that is moving very fast and creating a lot of employment. It is not only in the tourism sector either, but also in the private sector. There is a lot of construction going on. Houses are being built. The economy is very vibrant. The thing about this country is mortgages are not freely available, unlike developed countries. Here it comes from your pocket. If there is a lot of building going on, that means people have a lot of money. What’s more, the kind of houses that we have been building in the last 15 or 20 years are not the same as the ones we are building today. They have become more attractive and more expensive. That means something good is happening in the economy. It is a good indicator.

With so much growth going on, what do you see as your biggest challenge in the future?

The big challenge for me is funding. It is an issue. The major development and projects in works and infrastructure, we will accomplish in time. We are also involved in an urban infrastructure project now as the urban sector is expanding very fast and infrastructure is not catching up. One of the biggest challenges for the future will be to develop urban infrastructure that provides quality of life. So, urban infrastructure is another challenge.