The government of the Republic of The Gambia has today announced the construction of a Deep Sea Port in Sanyang. The announcement was made in a press release in which the expansion of the Banjul port was also announced to run concurrently with the Sanyang Deep sea port project.
The release further stated that “ Conscious of the need to increase the handling capacity of the country's only seaport and decongest terminals, The Gambia Government has approved a Public Private Partnership (PPP) concession for the expansion of the Port of Banjul and the development of a deep seaport at Sanyang village, West Coast Region along the country's southern coastline.”
According to the press release, the Public Private Partnership concession comprises of Albayrak and Negmar Consortium of Turkey with The Gambia Port Authority (GPA) serving as both a Guarantor and Shareholder in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Maritime Transport Business Services (MTBS) of Netherlands is the Transaction Adviser which assisted the Government in the bidding process through the PPP Technical Evaluation Committee comprising representatives from OP, GPA. GPPA. GRA. MOJ, MTWI, MOFEA. MOTIRIE, GIEPA and the PPP Directorate at the Finance & Economic Affairs ministry.
The release also disclosed that once the identified lead PPP concessionaire for the Sanyang Deep Seaport and the expansion of the Banjul Port commits to the Award instruments, work will begin in earnest and both projects are to be concluded within 24 months.
For several years, the Banjul port has struggled with backlog of containers due low capacity at the port. Construction and opening of a new deep sea port on the southern coastline of the country in Sanyang is a welcome development which will attract further investment in the southern coastline regions of the country.
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