The National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) Wednesday signed contracts with three contractors for the implementation of the US$4, 497, 497 million Gunjur Water Supply Project at a ceremony held at the Nawec head office in Kanifing.

The project is awarded to Sierra Construction System Limited, a Sierra Leone company; Water Resources Development (WARD), a Lebanese Company and Sinco and Spa, a Senegalese Company, and will run parallel in order to ensure timely completion.

According to the project agreement, Sinco Spa Company will construct a treatment plant and associate civil works worth US$2, 749, 595M, Water Resources Development will construct a 500m3 elevated water tank including design at the tune of US$681, 625, while Sierra Construction System will construct a water distribution network with all associated civil works at the tune of US$1, 066, 277M.

The project is funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the government of The Gambia. It is expected that when completed it will complement government's efforts in providing clean and safe drinking water to the Gambian people inline with the development objectives and Vision 2020.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ebrima Sanyang, the managing director of Nawec, said the project is very timely and important in the sense that Gunjur is a big metropolis without clean drinking water. He added that the coming of this project will address the issue. He also informed the gathering that the project would be ready by the end of this year if everything goes as planned.

Sanyang assured that Nawec and the Ministries of Energy and Finance will give their support during the course of the implementation, noting that it is a very passionate project for the government and in particular the president, who is the Energy minister. He said he has confidence in the three contractors for the fact that they have in the past successfully implemented multi-million dollar projects. He finally urged the consultant and contractors to work together for the timely and successful completion of the project.

For his part, Mustapha Colley, chairman of Nawec Board of Directors said the project is very important for The Gambia and the people of Gunjur, and has come at the right time. He urged the contractors to take the project seriously as the government has done everything possible to make it possible, stressing that timely completion is something but quality should not be compromised. He also stated that the outcome of the project will determine future relations between Nawec and the contractors.

On his part, Jones Francis of Francis Jones Associates, a consultant in the project said the role of the consultant is to assist the project manager as well as work with the contractors for the smooth implementation of the project. He assured of his commitment during the course of the project implementation.

Ahmed Tijan Njie of Sinco Spa Company, Amine Saad of Water Resources Development (WARD), and Kamal Nassar of Sierra Construction System all pledged to do their best to meet the targeted dateline for the completion of the project. They also assured that they will live up to expectation.