As part of various activities commemorating the 13th anniversary of the July 22nd revolution, this year’s commemoration has seen, among other things, the commissioning of the 97.1M state-of-the-art Central Medical Stores and a public health laboratory in Kotu on July 23rd. The new Central Medical Stores is equipped with a multi-tier racking system, 1.5-ton electric fork lift, hand pallets, and other accessories to facilitate storage.

The public health laboratory, which consists of four public health laboratories, namely Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Haematology and Histology (Cytology) have also been equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
This was followed on Tuesday, 24th July, by the foundation laying of a 34 million Euros water treatment project at Brikama by His Excellency President Jammeh.

The project is expected to rank as NAWEC’s biggest water production facility upon completion. The plant will be fed by 17 boreholes, with a capacity to distribute 30,200 cubic m of treated water per day. The project is said to have been designed to meet water demand of the 2013 population of the Greater Banjul Area.
According to Momodou Jallow, the Acting Managing Director of NAWEC, the project would install 6000 (Six Thousand) water metres in various communities.

Yet again on Tuesday, July 25th, Vice President Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy, on behalf of President Jammeh, officially inaugurated the Barra-Essau Rural Electrification Project, which is part of over D600 million Rural Electrification project undertaken by the Gambia government.

Also inaugurated the same day were the 39.4 million Euros EU-funded road project comprising five trunk road stretches, namely the 20km Barra- Amdalie; the 13km Mandinaba-Seleti; the 24km Trans-Gambia highway; the 193km Soma-Basse road and the 23km Basse-Wellingara as well as the D8 million environmental protection project at Abuko. The latter, a fence project, is said to be designed to protect one of the biggest treasures of the country, that plays host to large numbers of plant and animals species that constitute the country’s flora and fauna.

More recently on Friday, July 27th, the vice president also inaugurated what has become known as the 115km July 22nd highway (Farafenni-Laminkoto road). The four-year project started in 2002 and was completed in 2006. The two-lane single carriage infrastructure was financed by BADEA, Kuwaiti fund and Gambia government to the tune of D405 million.

Meanwhile this reporter has been reliably informed that the inaugurations will recommence on Wednesday, 1st August, 2007 with the inauguration of the newly built Siffoe Senior Secondary School, to be followed by the foundation laying of the Kanilai Science and Technology academy on Saturday, 4th August.