Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center

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The Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in the West African state of Gambia is a convention center that opened in January 2020.

Building description

Location and architecture

The convention center is located in Bijilo ( West Coast Region , Kombo North District ) directly on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean , north of the Bijilo Forest Park and the International Trypanotolerance Center (ITC). On the east side, the convention center is connected to the Senegambia Highway .

The area of ​​the building is approx. 11,400 m², its usable area is 14,000 m². The building is basically square in shape. In the middle, above the large conference room, a truncated cone- like structure rises, allowing daylight into the conference room. You can see that reference was made to Islamic architecture .

The large central conference room / plenary hall can seat more than 1000 people, so the center can be used for large international meetings. The congress center also has four conference halls adjoining the plenary hall, VIP rooms, eleven bilateral rooms, four press rooms, meeting rooms, offices, banquet halls and entertainment rooms with a sea view.

history

Planning

The construction of this center was a priority project as it is a prerequisite for hosting the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in 2022. The establishment has also been pushed to meet a long-standing need in a niche for tourism and development, as proposed in the National Development Plan (2018-2021). The project was given a financial cost of US $ 50 million (approx. € 45 million) and was funded by the People's Republic of China . The Gambia was originally planned as the venue for the Muslim World Summit in 2019, but the event was moved to Saudi Arabia due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure in Banjul.

Work on construction

The clearing of the site began in 2017 without civil society being informed about the project. Part of the original site of the Bijilo Forest Park, also known colloquially as Monkey Park, was ceded. Because of this, there were protests among the population.

The foundation stone of the ICC was laid by President Barrow in September 2017. China's ambassador to Gambia Zhang Zeming was present at the inauguration .

Work on the site began in mid-2017 and took two years to complete ahead of schedule. 500 workers were employed on the construction. It provided the opportunity to transfer knowledge and skills to Gambian nationals for the development of the local construction industry .

After the construction work on the convention center has been completed, the construction of a major highway between the convention center and the international airport of Banjul and a VIP hotel to accommodate the guests will begin. The motorway and hotel project are scheduled to begin in 2020, two years before the OIC Banjul Summit.

inauguration

President Adama Barrow named the project as the " International Conference Center " (ICC) after Gambia's first President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (1924-2019) to honor his legacy. Jawara died at the end of August 2019 at the age of 95. Barrow said this in a press release the week before the inauguration by the Department of Transportation, Construction and Infrastructure . The inauguration by him, the President, took place on January 11, 2020. China's ambassador to Gambia, Ma Jianchun (马建春) was present at the inauguration .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Pa Nderry Mbai: President Barrow Opens the sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center. In: freedomnewspaper.com. 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ a b Gambiana: International Conference Center named after Sir Dawda Jawara. In: gambiana.com. Gambiana, 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 (UK English).
  3. ↑ a b c APANEWS: $ 50m conference center gives Gambia infrastructure facelift. In: apanews.net. Retrieved January 11, 2020 .
  4. ↑ CCE NEWS TEAM: Gambia builds conference center at Bijilo National Park. In: cceonlinenews.com. 2017, Retrieved January 11, 2020 (American English).
  5. ↑ Saving Bijilo Monkey Park - Gambia. In: co.uk. .uk, accessed January 11, 2020 (UK English).
  6. ^ Gambian activists block building plans in endangered monkey habitat - Africa Times. In: africatimes.com. 2018, Retrieved January 11, 2020 (American English).
  7. ^ Njie Baldeh: No one has right to lease gov't lands - Tourism Minister. In: thepoint.gm. March 9, 2017, accessed January 11, 2020 .
  8. ^ International Conference Center to be named After Former President. In: foroyaa.gm. January 6, 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 (American English).
  9. ↑ Kebba Jeffang: President lays Foundation Stone for $ 50 million International Conference Center. In: foroyaa.gm. September 15, 2017, accessed January 11, 2020 (American English).
  10. ^ Barrow names ICC after Sir Dawda. In: thepoint.gm. January 7, 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 .
  11. ↑ International Conference Center Building Named After Sir Dawda K. Jawara. In: voicegambia.com. 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 (American English).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Detailed information: 1031 seats
  2. ↑ Detailed information: 180 seats each
  3. ↑ Detailed information: 32 seats each
  4. ↑ Detailed information: 53 seats each

Coordinates: 13 ° 26 ′ 14.5 "  N , 16 ° 43 ′ 26.5"  W.