Over 70,000 residents within Niumi are expected to benefit from the 88 kilometre road network project unveiled on Sunday.

President Adama Barrow at the weekend laid down the foundation stone for commencement of the road project dubbed “Hakalang” which he has promised the residents during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Speaking at the laying foundation, President Adama Barrow said the road network will provide vital access to the Lower and Upper Nuimi districts.

“There is no doubt that the project will yield numerous economic and social benefits within the area, including the development of agriculture, fisheries and tourism, especially for the renowned tourist attraction sites in Jufurreh. 

“We expect, and with much optimism, that the proposed construction works will immediately trigger increased economic activities, such as agricultural production enterprises that include cashew farming and animal husbandry,” he told residents.

The President added: “my government has taken this big stride to ensure that the people of Hakalang are not, any longer, excluded from the national development process. The development of the roads in the area has been anticipated for more than five decades. Fulfilling this dream is certainly long overdue.”

He said the road project is fully funded by his government. 

“I thank the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure, the National Roads Authority and, most notably, the Honourable National Assembly Members who were at the forefront of the deliberations to allocate the necessary funding for the Project.

 “The ultimate success of this important project depends on the collaboration of all the parties involved in it, which include the contractor, consultants, the client Ministries, the work force and the host communities of Nuimi. 

“I implore all the communities along the project roads to be the best of hosts for the successful implementation of the project.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba