By: Sainabou Sambou
President Adama Barrow on Wednesday launched a package of road projects spanning 36.1 kilometers across six sites in the West Coast Region, marking a significant step in the government’s Connect Gambia Roads Infrastructure Tour.
The initiative aims to improve mobility, connect isolated communities, and stimulate local economic activity. The projects comprise the 6.2-kilometre Brikama–Jidda Baba Njie–Toubakuta Road; the 2.4-kilometre Brikama Newtown Road–Kitty Junction stretch; the one-kilometre Lamin Waa Juwara–Box Bar Road/Jah Oil section in Brikama; the 15-kilometre Lamin CDC–Kubariko–Makumbaya–Galoya–Kubuneh–Kunkujang Jataya–Mandinaring corridor; the 1.3-kilometre Hamat Bah Junction–OIC Road; and the 10.2-kilometre Jabang–Yuna–Madiana–Tanji Road.
Alongside the road works, the President laid the foundation stone for the upgrading of the Sukuta Women Federation Market. The market project aims to provide better trading facilities for women entrepreneurs and strengthen their participation in the local economy.
These developments form part of the wider Connect Gambia Infrastructure Initiative, which seeks to expand the national road network and improve links between communities and commercial centers. Speaking to journalists in Tanji after the foundation-stone ceremony for the long-awaited local road, President Barrow stressed his administration’s resolve to transform the country’s transport infrastructure.
“We are going to connect The Gambia,” he declared. He noted that foundation stones had already been laid for approximately 1,600 kilometers of roads nationwide—an undertaking he described as unprecedented in the country’s history. The President expressed confidence that the scale of investment would deliver tangible change within the next five years.
Barrow emphasized that infrastructure development extends beyond roads. The government is simultaneously advancing projects in health, education, electricity and water supply. “The promise is to impact the life of the Gambian people. And in impacting the life of the Gambian people, you have to build infrastructure,” he said.
He framed the current drive as a necessary acceleration after what he termed 52 years of wasted time and resources. Assuring residents that ceremonial events would quickly translate into construction, he added: “That’s why whenever I lay this stone, the graders will follow. Very soon you will see the graders on the ground.”
In Tanji, where residents had waited roughly six decades for an improved road, the President highlighted the project’s importance to the community. Despite persistent heavy rainfall, large crowds turned out to witness the proceedings. Barrow thanked the people of Tanji, the wider Gambian public, his cabinet and local communities for their continued support. He acknowledged that the weather had limited celebrations and promised a future date for a fuller public event.
Reaffirming the administration’s commitment, the President stated: “We are very, very focused. We are very determined, and we are sure of what we are doing.” He assured Tanji residents that construction equipment would soon arrive on site. “Whatever we are doing is real; it’s not fake,” he concluded.
The launches underscore the government’s prioritization of physical infrastructure as a foundation for broader social and economic progress across The Gambia.
