To Fix Date For Summit
By Makutu Manneh
As he laid the foundation stone for Radinsson Blu’s Banjul five-star hotel project for the OIC 2022 Summit, President Adama Barrow disclosed that they have started engaging the OIC General Secretariat and partners to agree on a suitable date for The Gambia to host the summit.
The president said this on Saturday 23rd July 2022 in Bajilo, in the West Coast Region, and the five-star hotel is one of the five projects to be implemented in the country for the OIC’s 2022 Summit. The Gambia is to host the summit this year, with just six months left for the end of 2022.
During the foundation stone laying, the Chairperson and concessionaire of Immoland disclosed that the hotel will be completed within fifteen months, and will cost 100 million USD. He ssaid the hotel will have 60 presidential and royal suits alongside 400 luxurious rooms.
“Let me use this opportunity to emphasise that The Gambia will indeed host the summit and we are on track in doing so in a spectacular fashion. We have the capacity and by God’s grace we will succeed,” Barrow said.
Barrow further said they have the will, ability and resources to host the summit and that his Government will ensure that the contractors, consultants and other stakeholders deliver and complete all the necessary infrastructural projects on time. He said the OIC projects are designed to be legacy projects whose impact will far out live the summit and for this reason, they will ensure they get it right in the best interest of the Gambia and the global Muslim community.
The President went on to say that the hotel will uplift the country’s destination to a new level and will position the Gambia among the favorite destinations in the world; that a joint operation of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, the VVIP lounge at the Airport and Radisson Blu Gambia, is expected to uniquely position The Gambia as a leading destination for international meetings, conferences and exhibitions.
“I encourage the youth to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire skills and generate income to become productive and self-reliant citizens,” the President said.
