By Buba Gagigo
The Minister of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, Hon. Ebrima Sillah, has announced that the Government of The Gambia is considering a concession agreement with a private company to manage Banjul International Airport.
Speaking to Kerr Fatou, Minister Sillah emphasized that globally, the management of airports is shifting towards private sector involvement, citing examples from neighboring countries.
“Currently within this region, there is no airport that is in the hands of the state directly hundred percent. The business models are changing, just like what happened to us with our port, when all the other countries were going right and we still remained stuck in our thinking. Senegal has now gone and they are on their second international deep sea port, Mauritania has already gone,” the Minister told Kerr Fatou.
When asked whether this move indicated privatization, Minister Sillah clarified:
“Is not privatized, it’s a concession. In fact, this is the new business model that we have in this market now. At the end of the day, Civil Aviation cannot in any way compete with the operators of Blaise Diagne Airport in terms of directing traffic, in terms of management, in terms of volume. It is not possible. Because, first, they don’t have the capacity, they don’t have the funding, they don’t also have the infrastructure. The people who are doing this, this is their business. You work with the state. You bring in the necessary capital, the necessary expertise, you train the local people, let them go through that progression in terms of professionalism, and then by the time the concession is handed back to the state, they are capable, highly qualified to be able to see innovation,” he said.
This move follows similar agreements in the country. Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure investor, recently took over the operations of the Senegambia Bridge after disbursing an initial $15.5 million as part of a $100 million asset recycling program with the Gambian government. Additionally, the Gambia Ports Authority signed a concession agreement with the Albayakah Group to manage Banjul Port.
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