By Fatou Krubally
The Port of Banjul has significantly reduced its vessel turnaround time, from 16 days and 15 hours in 2024 to eight days and 20 hours in 2026, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ebrima Sillah told the National Assembly on Monday.
Sillah made the disclosure while responding to the Public Enterprises Committee’s follow-up performance audit report on cargo handling at the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA).
He attributed the improvement to better coordination among key operational units responsible for berth allocation, cargo handling and documentation.
Faster loading and discharge operations, as well as fewer delays caused by equipment downtime, had also contributed to the reduction, he said.
The Public Enterprises Committee had raised concerns over congestion at the Port of Banjul.
In response, Sillah said standard container-stacking practices had been successfully implemented by the concessionaire, while a new 15,000-square-metre container terminal at the former Haldai area had been commissioned.
The new terminal is operational and provides an additional storage capacity of 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), he said.
Ongoing rehabilitation works have also created additional space for container stacking, helping to ease congestion, alongside the continued operation of the Inland Container Depot.
On monitoring the concession agreement, Sillah said the GPA had established a monitoring and evaluation unit to oversee its implementation and ensure compliance with government performance requirements.
He said the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and Ministry of Justice were among the government institutions involved in monitoring the agreement.
The minister added that the GPA Audit Committee meets quarterly to review internal audit reports as part of its statutory responsibilities.
On infrastructure development, Sillah said the concession agreement requires the concessionaire to rehabilitate the Port of Banjul and develop a deep-sea port.
He told lawmakers that rehabilitation works at the Port of Banjul were more than 90 percent complete, while works related to the jetty were also ongoing.
The concessionaire has also acquired four cranes, four hoppers, six trailers and two forklifts to improve cargo-handling operations, he said.
Sillah explained that mobile cargo cranes and other heavy equipment would be deployed at the planned deep-sea port because of limitations associated with the existing berths at the Port of Banjul.
On rent waivers, the minister clarified that the GPA, as regulator under the concession arrangement, does not directly control cargo-handling operations or rent charges, which fall under the responsibility of the concessionaire.
He said, however, that the GPA Board approved a new rent-waiver policy in October 2023, establishing a formal process for submitting, reviewing and approving applications.