President Yahya Jammeh, yesterday laid the foundation stone of the Aja Fatou A Bojang Power Plant Project at Tujereng village, Kombo South.

The US$80M project is a joint investment by a Canadian multi-national company called Naanovo Energy Inco-operation and the Millennium Africa Water and Electricity Power Company in The Gambia.

The project, a Build Own and Operate (BOO) for The Gambia with a capacity of 14 Megawatts will use municipal waste to generate energy that would be sold to Nawec. It is expected to be fully operational in 24 months time and will also provide permanent employment for 300 workers.

As part of the project, a waste bottling plant will be created and that would bottle 76 thousand bottles of one and half litres of H2O. A bye-product of the power plant called ‘Clinka’ would also be useful in making 32 thousand blocks daily which will be 20% stronger than the normal blocks.

The project, which was classified as Urgent Priority Fast- Tract, will occupy at least 200,000 square meters of land and a kilometer of road to access the sea water which is very important for the project.

In his keynote address, President Jammeh said the project is part of pledges he made to the Gambian people in 1994, particularly in 1998 to the people of Kombo South, that he will transform The Gambia into a city state. He said as a patriotic citizen and democrat, he believes in equality. “As far as I am concerned, I see no reason why some Gambians will leave in Urban areas and others leave in rural areas. Therefore, I will make sure that all Gambians leave in urban areas”, he said.

According to President Jammeh, to achieve this goal in the shortest possible time, all patriotic Gambians as well as friends of the country should participate in the socio-economic development of the country. He said that he is not a politician neither a master of the people, but a servant of the people and urged Gambians not to listen to those unpatriotic people who always criticize the government and cannot even bring a needle to the country. “During the last Presidential elections, some people where going round saying that even electricity cannot be normal in the country. But when I heard of that, I then provided enough electricity and they all shot down their mouths,” he said.

On electricity cost, President Jammeh told the people that he is a democrat who believes that any one who needs cheap electricity should go to a country where it is free of charge. “There cannot be free electricity in this country. This is for the fact that we don't extract fuel in this country. So electricity cannot be free and will never be free. Even if we extract our own fuel, electricity will not be free. There is no where in the world where electricity is free,” he said.

President Jammeh then made it clear to the people that they should know that the project is their project and they should have the responsibility to make sure that it is successful. He urged them to discourage all activities that will delay the work of the project and then entrusted them to make sure that the project is secured and the workers do not steal anything from the project materials. He further advised the people to avoid been sold any of the project materials and further authorised them not to allow any material from the project to be sold in their community, adding that they should arrest anyone found inpossession of the materials.

The Gambian leader then revealed that the plant will have enough power to supply electricity in Tujereng, Serrekunda and even up to Kalagi. “This project is one of the biggest investment projects in the country since 1994”, he declared. President Jammeh assured the people that his government will give all the facilities and incentives to support the investors, noting that in nation building, investors have a role to play, as well as the government and the citizens. “Since the project is also named after my mother, I will not take anything for granted. Those of you working here, if anyone is found stealing even a nail, you will be arrested. There will be operation no compromise in it. This is because I will not name my mother after something and allow unscrupulous people to spoil it,” he warned.

For his part, Momodou Jallow, the Managing Director of Nawec described the power plant as one of the best projects ever witnessed in this country. He said that this project will greatly contribute to the electricity sub-sector development in the country and also in achieving the aims of the energy sector.

He commended Naanovo for the confidence it has in choosing The Gambia to invest and expressed hope that this good relationship will continue.

Mr. Jallow also lauded President Jammeh for his continued commitment in providing enough electricity for the people of The Gambia, noting that this power plant will greatly reduce the dependency in fuel.

Antony Seedy, Naanovo's regional Vice-President for Europe and Africa in his remarks said the project will also provide over 76 thousand litres of water daily and will also help the country in exporting water to other countries.

According to Mr. Seedy, the other by-products such as blocks, electricity and water are also very vital. The blocks he added, will be available for cash and carry. “Before the grace period of 25 years, Gambians will be well trained on the operational activities, especially in the technical aspect. He then commended the Department of State for Local Government and Lands, GIPFZA and NAWEC for their good work and collaboration in making the project implementation a reality.

Kebba Touray, the CEO of GIPFZA who gave the vote of thanks extended appreciation to President Jammeh and his government for creating a conductive environment for the implementation of the project.

He as well commended NAWEC and GIPFZA for the support they rendered since the beginning of the project and all the shareholder of Naanovo for choosing to invest in The Gambia.