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OIC Gambia deputy CEO says airport VVIP lounge among world’s best

Feb 6, 2023, 12:26 PM | Article By: Pa Modou Cham

Essa Bokarr Sey, the deputy chief executive officer of OIC Gambia Secretariat, in an interview with GRTS Good Morning show, branded the ongoing construction of the state-of-the-art VVIP airport lounge as one of the best in the world.

“The progress is impressive and I will say the VVIP lounge at the airport is the state of the art and one of the best in the world,” he said.

He stated that the construction will soon be ready and there will be a handing-over ceremony for the commencement of services, branding it as one of the major projects of the OIC.

Dwelling on the progress made in infrastructural development for the preparation of the rescheduled OIC conference, Mr Sey explained that the improvement is a combination of the efforts of all stakeholders.

He said the direct supervisor is the Ministry of Works, adding that OIC is more of a coordinator and facilitator.

On the advancement of the ongoing construction of the Bartin Harding Highway, which is the most famous project, he said, the targeted month for the road construction to reach the Senegambia junction is by May of 2023.

He was quick to add that the project which would be extended to Setting-Corner will soon be usable.

He reiterated that last week, the president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) came to the country for the signing of other agreements related to agriculture. He added that IDB is one of the donors who made it possible to construct the roads.

On dialogue with those affected due to the OIC projects, he said: “We were in New Jeshwang for a door-to-door engagement with the community. The first development for any serious nation in the world is the citizens because these roads are built for people. Building it for people doesn’t mean you will raise the risk above the benefits because one has to balance the two or the benefits will be more than the risk.”

Sey continued that his secretariat doesn’t want to have a project where the risks are higher than the benefits.

He further noted that it’s of great importance to engage, respect, listen and explain to people when things are destroyed, they will be compensated.