D6M Recreational Park foundation stone laid in Bakau
The Lord Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Talib Ahmed Bensouda has on Thursday laid down the foundation stone for the construction of the Bakau recreational park which is under the KETP project worth D6 Million Dalasi.
D3 Million was a project funded by the European Union under the Kanifing Environmental Transformation Program with an additional D3 Million funds supported by Africell Company for the construction of Basketball lawn with a fully equipped outdoor gym center.
The recreational center when completed is set to accommodate one children’s playground, six-side football field, and toilet blocks, with a perimeter chain-link fence. Furthermore, Africell Gambia Ltd also showed its commitment to construct a full basketball court with a fully equipped outdoor gym.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony held at opposite the craft market, Old Cape Point in Bakau, Mayor Bensouda stated that the event was the second park amongst the seven KETP parks they were laying down the foundation stone for, which is the Kanifing Environmental Transformation program, an EU funded program to the tune of D180 Million.
He noted that the Kanifing environmental transformation program involves the educational, environmental and waste management component, noting that in the educational component, the KETP has just launched and laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first Municipal Library, which is the biggest library in the history of Gambia at the tune of D42 Million. “KMC is ready for business,” he told the gathering.
In his remarks, the KETP Project Manager Mr. Lamin Sanyang noted that the park will be amongst the seven parks with children playground that will be constructed by the Kanifing Environment Transformation program-KETP funded by the European Union and fully implemented by the kanifing Municipal Council.
He stated that the construction of the seven parks will create safe and accessible spaces for children to play including access for persons with disabilities along with greening the city, and will also increase the quality of life for citizens, fostering urban green growth while contributing to the global climate mitigation efforts.
According to Sanyang, the KETP project is expected to erect two parks with children playing grounds and further disclosed that the project contract was awarded to Scope Enterprise
With regard to the parks sustainability, he revealed that the community will identify youths as parks ambassadors who would be trained on park maintenance and landscaping technics for the maintenance and sustainability of the parks, while the management of the parks could also accrue money from hiring the football pitch for the maintenance of facilities in the park.
He assured that the project team will closely with the Council and the Village Development Committee (VDC) to ensure effective management of the facility. He advanced to applaud the Council and its management under Mayor Bensouda who provided the political commitment to ensure the project objectives are achieved.
He thanked the European Union through the EU Ambassador to the Gambia for being supportive since the commencement of the contract and Africell Company for cordial relationship and the support for the provision of the gym materials and the construction of the basketball lawn.
Musa Sise of Africell said that his participation at the event was in support of Mayor Bensouda on the project he spearheaded all for the benefit of the KMC, adding that considering the Africell GSM Company is located in the KMC, and for that reason, the youth of the KMC formed the basis of the Africell subscribers.
He noted that supporting such a kind of project for the betterment and improvement and encouraging a healthy wellbeing, particularly in sports could not be over emphasize, promising that Africell would help to build seven basketball courts with an open air gym for the better health of the people of KMC
