Culled from The Gambia Daily, by Foday Camara

The recently-approved National Transport Policy and National Transport Plan
provide the framework, strategies, priorities and action plan of the
government for the next five years, Edward Singhateh (SOS for Works,
Construction and Infrastructure) told the US-Gambia Business Forum held at
Kairaba Beach Hotel last week.

Noting that the US business people are in the country to explore business
opportunities in The Gambia, particularly in the transportation sector, he
said the timing of the forum could not have been more opportune, as it
comes at a time when The Gambia is undertaking some major policy reforms in
the areas of transportation and infrastructure development.

ROAD TRANSPORT POLICY

Singhateh said road transport represents the dominant mode of
transportation in The Gambia, accounting for more than 90% of motorized
passenger and freight movement. "As in most developing countries, tax
revenues and government borrowing from multi-lateral financing institutions
constitute the predominant sources of funding for the road sub-sector"

"The rapid expansion of our road network since 1994 has been geared towards
creating not greater access for The Gambian people to social services such
as hospitals, schools, etc., but also to enable farmers to evacuate
agricultural produce and to allow for easy flow of essential goods for sale
to and from the provincial areas."

However, the more roads you build, the more you have to maintain inspite of
the limited funds allocated to road maintenance, he noted.

So in order to address this problem, government has decided to establish a
Roads Agency with a dedicated road fund where road related revenues will be
lodged for exclusive use on maintenance and the expansion of the national
road network.

AIR TRANSPORT POLICY

He said air transport plays an important role in the over all transport
sector, as it is strategically crucial for the tourism industry. "our
policy aims at facilitating demands for air traffic in accordance with free
market principles and to encourage private sector participation,
particularly in the infrastructure, cargo and passenger route development.

"Our recent attainment of ICAO and FAA security approval ratings which
qualifies Banjul International Airport as a last port of departure for US-
bound flights has been a policy objective which has significantly impacted
on our competitive edge within our sub-region, and it is hoped that this
would open up trade links not only between The Gambia and US, but also our
sub-region and the US through The Gambia."

MARITIME AND RIVER TRANSPORT

Given the country's heavy dependence on the importation of most basic
commodities, he went on, the port of Banjul plays a pivotal role in the
development of The Gambia's economy. "Our policy aims at developing the
port of Banjul to become the main gateway to the West Africa region and
also encourage private sector participation in maritime transport through
the creation of the pre-requisite environment where operators and investors
can realise adequate returns on their investments."

"The Gambia as you are aware, is endowed with a very navigable river.
However, besides the seasonal evacuation of groundnuts, river transport has
almost ceased to exist, as regular boats no longer ply the river. Our
policy aims at reviving river transport by encouraging the private sector
and the potential beneficiaries of river transport, especially those living
in the vicinity of the river, to take the lead."

Concerning the business opportunities available to investors in the
transport sector, the transport minister said that the establishment of The
Gambia Roads Authority very early next year would create a huge demand for
equipment hire since all road works, including maintenance, are to be
contracted out to the private sector.

The Banjul Port Masterplan which is currently being updated and the Airport
Masterplan have identified numerous projects which could be implemented in
partnership with the private sector, he announced. "I urge you to contact
these institutions with a view not only to identifying possible areas of
interest but also to initiate what you think could complement our
development efforts."

The Trade Gateway Project, which has recently been launched, has a
catalogue of projects that investors might want to take part in, he added.

"There is huge potential for inland river transport as it is less costly
than road transport for the movement of bulk goods between Banjul and the
provinces. The unique nature of The River Gambia provides a fantastic view
for tourists, thus creating a potential for river cruises," he further
noted.

Singhateh hoped that the Bajul Forum will yield fruitful partnerships that
would promote trade and cooperation between The US and The Gambia.



--
There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve (Mike Leavitt)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~