By Aja Musu Bah-Daffeh
The ministry of Petroleum, National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) and a Chinese company Sinohydro 
Corporation, on Friday 21st, 2017 signed a 165million US Dollar project at a ceremony held at the Kairba Beach Hotel.
The aim of the project among others is to provide a new HFO Power Plant with 60MW capacity as a medium intervention in the electricity sub-sector in order to provide adequate and stable power supply in the Greater Banjul Area and beyond.
Signing Ceremony
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Fafa Sanyang the Minister of Petroleum and Energy expresses delight for such a project and said that if the project is successfully implemented, it would boost the economy. He said it will also increase access to a stable and affordable power supply.
He said more industries and businesses will be established; create employment and usher in poverty alleviation and overall socio-economic advancement among a host of economic benefits. Minister Sanyang added that the signing ceremony of preliminary contract between NAWEC and Sinohydro will help to effectively strengthen the energy sector in the Gambia
Mr. Baba Fatajo the Managing Director of NAWEC hammers on the importance of the project, noting that the project signed was a result of the bilateral corporation between China and The Gambia. He said if the project is implemented, it will be a game changer in the power supply country.
“The intervention of the project will go a long way in modernizing our entire electricity generation and network as we could operate on more efficient generator sets. As well as significantly reduce our technical losses, which continue to be a major challenge for NAWEC.“ said Mr. Fatajo
Madam Lui Xiaomin, the Vice President of Sinohydro, West and Central Africa also expressed delight to the partnership and express hope that the project will bring mutual benefits to both parties. She talked about the proposed plans; transmission and distribution facilities that would be integrated with the existing power supply systems to provide an overall automated system.
“The financial proposal was part of the agreement upon which the incorporation of general items, substation works, power transmission and distribution works with optical communication equipment, training, power plan, spare parts for 24000hrs operation and contingencies.“ She informed
Sinohydro is a Chinese state corporation, ranked number 1 in the fields of hydroelectricity, thermal and renewable energies that have great expertise in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of energy generation and transmission facilities.
