Ms.Diop, I am assuming that the serious nature of the erosion of Gambia's coastline is recognised by all and thus I need not get into the extent of the havoc already caused by it. For those who did not take the problem seriously were rudely awakened on the night of 8th February, 2001 when, in the area between the Old Muslim Cemetery and "Tonasi" or Alice Carr, the high tide crossed the Banjul-SerreKunda Highway. If mitigating measures are not taken now, the highway faces the threat of being engulfed by the ocean, resulting in the isolation of Banjul from the rest of the country. I personally inspected the site the same morning of the incident. The sediment deposition phenomenon at Barra Ferry Terminal is another concern of Government and the Department o f Works. Siltation at the Barra Ferry access piers has increased, restricted ferry operation to period of high tide conditions. We have two problems facing us here (a) restricted ferry operation and (b) the number of Banjul-Barra ferries is now down to one. The first problem can and will be addressed by the proposed Coastal Protection Project. The second, I understand, is being addressed through the purchase of an additional ferry. In response to the specific questions posed by Ms. Diop, I shall be as brief as possible; a highly risky proposition given the technical complexity of the study: 1. The Coastal Protection Study commenced in January 2000 was successfully completed in April 2001. A Dutch consulting firm by the name of HASKONIN conducted the study. 2. The model that was developed during the studies, divided the areas for implementing erosion protection measures into four zones. Z one 1 (Banjul Point to Sand Spit)or old Madi's flats to around Mile 4-5 area. Zone 2(Sand spit to Cape Point);Zone 3 (Cape Point to Bakau) and Zone 4 (Bakau to Kololi). The protective measures proposed in the erosion zones are classified into "soft" (reshaping and restoring the coastline through suppy of sand) and "hard" (rock groynes, revetments and repair of old timber groynes). The "soft" measures are common in all four zones whereas the the hard measures exclude Zone 4. 3. Government was presented with four Options including beach restoration with sand from "external" source; restoration with sand from spit involving the removal of the sand spit after Wadner Beach and beyond Oyster creek, and building by nature. 4. The sedimentation problem at Barra Ferry Terminal will be addressed through a single Option recommended by the consultant i.e. hopper dredging 5. Government opted for Option 1 for reasons of costs and technical feasibility among other factors. An Action Plan already exists and ready for implementation once funds are made available by the AfBD and Opec Fund in September, 2001. The estimated cost of the Project is UA 15.12 million (1UA=GMD17.99=US$1.30)with AfDB putting up UA10 million, Opec Fund UA 4.46 million and Govt. UA 1.66 million. The estimated starting date and duration is January 2002 to June 2004 (30 months). I can assure you Ms. Diop that Government appreciates the urgency of the problem. Infact, under normal circumstances, this project would have been scheduled for funding in the middle of next year but because of the incident I cited above, the funding was accelerated so that remedial measures could be taken immediately to protect the economic infrastructure and the livelihood of almost a quarter of the Gambian population who depend, directly or indirectly, on tourism. Sidi Sanneh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------