Excellent. Thank you Buharry for sharing.
I commend Yahya, Ambassador Ansumana Jammeh, QGIG, and the Saudi King for this significant project. I encourage all Gambians to support the investment.
I have a couple of concerns I want to share:
1. I understand the profit-making aspect was down-played at the beginning of the presentation, however, the design and schedule of construction clearly demonstrates the commercial nature of the project. The residential phase and the hospital phase both lag behind the hotel, conference, mosques, villa, cabanas, and marina phases of the project. I encourage due diligence on the part of the developers not to be too top-heavy on profit on the front-end. I understand the analysis that goes into scheduling of such a venture and I do not blame the developpers for this sobriety considering the nature and past record of Yahya and his minions in the current Gambia government.
2. I am very excited at the prospect of solar energy being the preferred energy of choice for the developers. Considering the remarkable intrusion into the national heritage forest area, (I would choose another location but given Yahya's short-sightedness, the choice of location by the developers is not discouraged), I encourage transfer of the project behind the coastal road with an additional buffer area from the highway. This buffer area will conserve the forest fauna and flora and I strongly urge the investors to do away with the idea of trails cutting through the forest to the cabanas and the beachfront. The entire development should abut the forest not have any elements pass through the forest, no matter the chainlink fencing. It is apparent that the project concept is treating the forest itself as a buffer to the sea. However I suggest an extra buffer to the forest itself, to be considered as a natural reserve. This will maintain the resort theme of the project. If the presence of the highway encumbers the transition and aesthetics, I recommend a bypass be constructed for the highway to take it further inland and keep and transform the by-passed part of the highway as the spine boulevard of the project.
3. I like the idea of an aquarium in addition to the ice-skating rink. An ice-skating rink gives the strictly profit nature of the project away too easily. As the developpers admit, Gambia is a tropical country and an ice-skating rink is unnatural to both the culture and climate. I understand the tourist desire for ice-skating but the residents and shoppers will value the aquarium and a track skating rink much more. The year-round ice skating is a terrible waste of funds and energy.
4. I encourage the construction of a water treatment and sewerage plant during the first phase (which undoubtedly will be the hotel and conference centers) of the project. Of course the capacity of these plants and the solar plant will take into consideration the residential and hospital phases. I will discourage dumping any untreated effluent into the sea.
5. I encourage the developers to make the hospital a teaching hospital to train medical and nursing students. It will be unfortunate if a hospital of the nature described does not accrue commensurate value. I further encourage the investors to consider a church to go along with the 3 mosques. Some of the residents and shoppers may be of the christian persuasion. The project after all impinges of a National Heritage in the forest.
6. Last but not least, I encourage the investors to guard against bribing government and security officials besides their tax liabilities. Any illegal activity will take away from the positive impact of the project.
I will continue to monitor the project and where I deem appropriate, I will make suggestions for improvement. It is usually less costly (no change orders) to implement wise suggestions at the front-end of such high footprint projects.
Haruna. Thanx again Buharry for sharing.
-----Original Message-----
From: M. Gassama <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wed, Apr 27, 2011 3:14 pm
Subject: 21st. Century Gambia Project Videos On Raaki
Hi!
You can watch videos of the preview and laying of the foundation stone
for the 21st. Century Gambia Project. Just thought it might be
interesting to see given the debate the project has generated. Have a
good evening.
Buharry.
Project preview and meeting:
http://www.raaki.com/grts/21st._century_gambia_project.html
Laying of the foundation stone: http://www.raaki.com/grts/21st._century_gambia_project_foundation.html
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