By Sanna Camara
An executive official of Negmar Group, the company behind the controversial ferry landing site at Fort Bullen in Barra, has argued that a new 24-hour ferry service will attract investments and create employment for Barra, thereby making it a crucial trade gateway for the entire Niumi.
Negmar is a Turkish multinational private company with a diverse international structure, operating in various sectors, including maritime, logistics, construction, agriculture, food, informatics, and mining. It is one of Turkey’s leading ship-owner companies, with a fleet of 11 ships.
“Since 2022, we have been granted permission to operate ferry services between Banjul and Barra. It is expected to bring competition and improved services to the maritime industry in the region, with three ferries inaugurating the Banjul-Barra waterway,” Mr Hali Gai, deputy managing director of Negmar Gambia said.
“These ferries,” he said, “have big capacities with up to 80 vehicles, including 30 trucks,” sounding confident that the new project will ease challenges of river crossing between the capital city and the North Bank Region of the country, and by extension the neighbouring countries and Ecowas.
The construction of a landing just around the former Radio Syd station, adjacent the Bund Road in Banjul and another located in the vicinity of Fort Bullen in Barra will ensure competition for services, and improved customer experience for passengers. However, the Barra landing site has attracted controversy over how a national heritage site has been allocated for this with environmental, geological and developmental considerations of Barra.
“It is capital intensive, with D50 million already spent on infrastructure works gone half way on the landing terminal. It will open Barra as a trade gateway and Negmar will be a game changer due to this 24-hour ferry service. We will also operate in river transportation on the River Gambia, including container transportation.
Some of the expected benefits include tourism, trade, employment, real estate and higher education because Barra is a more strategic option compared to the others on the table.
During the Yahya Jammeh era, studies were conducted to see the viability of ferry crossings in Albreda, and Sitanunku in Niumi to Bonto. However, Mr Gai said these were found to be capital intensive and the Gambia Ferry Services did not have funds for implementation.
A colonial era study was also conducted between a Kaur-Kungel (Senegal) railway. Another bilateral negotiation was undertaken for a railway between Westfield-Basse-Tambacounda-Mali in the context of interconnectivity trade for the Malian market.
Mr Gai said the D30,000 given to Barra elders was a courtesy offering to present the project to them. He said they also gave D150,000 to North Bank Region’s team for the just-ended Nayconf as a token of their commitment to contributing to the development of the region.
