
AAAP in the Media
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The Gambia: African Development Bank commits grants of $20.56 million to further upgrade Banjul port

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, on Thursday approved grants worth $20.56 million to finance the fourth expansion of Banjul Port in The Gambia.
The funding comprises an ADF grant of $13.71 million and another $6.85 million grant from the Transition Support Facility window. The project will also receive a $450,000 grant from the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and the Global Centre on Adaptation, for technical assistance to mainstream climate resilience into the expansion. AAAP will use cutting-edge climate analytics to identify and quantify the impacts of physical climate risk on the port infrastructure and provide adaptation investment options to climate-proof it.
The expansion will be financed in parallel with a private investor who will be selected competitively by the Gambian government. The World Bank and the African Development Bank supported the Banjul Port’s previous expansions.
The fourth expansion program entails an extension of the port jetty by 345 meters to accommodate up to three ships simultaneously instead of one currently. It also provides for the expansion of the container terminal area by 22,000 m2 to create space for unloading ships, replacement of a non-functioning ferry plying the Banjul and Bara crossing and widening port access roads by 3km to ease congestion. Information and communication processing systems will also be procured for efficient linkages between customs and the terminal operating system.
Upgrading the port will significantly reduce ship turnaround time and cut costly congestion and surcharges, enabling reductions in sea freight costs and demurrage payments. The works will boost the facility’s capacity to meet growing traffic and improve efficiency in operations and management as it digitizes its procedures. The introduction of green and low-carbon emission ferries will make the port infrastructure more climate-friendly and climate-resilient. The project is also expected to empower women's groups through gender-sensitive procurement and provide jobs, especially for the youth.
At the end of November 2022, the Bank Group had 12 active operations in The Gambia, valued at $166.6 million. Eighty percent (80%) of these are financed through its ADF window. The transport sector represents 55.6% of the portfolio, the largest share, followed by agriculture and rural development with 24%. Energy sector projects constitute 12% of the portfolio.
Contact:
Kwasi Kpodo, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: media@afdb.org(link sends e-mail)
GAMBIA National Transport Risk and Resilience Assessment
Transport systems are a key enabler for trans-sectorial development in The Gambia. The Gambia has a land area that stretches 450 km along the Gambia River, dividing the South and the North banks of the river, and is surrounded by the Senegal except for its 60 km Atlantic Ocean front. The national transport system contributes to geographical integration across the banks of the river and facilitates cross-border Nort-South traffic within Senegal. Strengthening the transport system will therefore also strengthen essential commercial links and reinforce access to social and economic facilities.
The country’s transport system relies on: (i) roads (primary inter-urban trunk roads, secondary gravel surfaces roads, urban roads mainly in the Greater Banjul area), (ii) air transport with the Banjul International Airport, and (iii) maritime and fluvial transport with the Port of Banjul and the river. The Gambia National Transport Policy (2018 – 2027) highlights the key objectives for the development of the transport sector:
- Improving access to Isolated Regions within the country,
- Addressing the mobility needs of the growing population while urbanization rate is increasing,
- Improving integration across transportation modes,
- Reestablishing the river, currently under-utilized, as a backbone component of the National Transport System,
- Overall, reinforcing safety-systems, regulations, institutional capacity fostering transport infrastructure financing and private sector involvement.
The National Transport Policy links investments in transport with other sectoral outcomes around Trade, Agriculture, Tourism, and public / private sector relations policies.
The project aims to quantify transport infrastructure adaptation needs and provide a prioritized and evidence-based list of adaptation and resilience solutions that could be integrated in the upcoming transport infrastructure development investments.
Learning from the implementation in Ghana, the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program will provide technical assistance to include climate adaptation and resilience solutions in the Integrated Transport Master Plan.
- Data collection and analysis for transport assets and existing services (including spatial data on trade flows, access to healthcare, and other social and economic factors)
- High resolution spatial analysis and climate modelling of transportation infrastructure and expected hazards in different climate scenarios
- Climate Risks assessment with direct and indirect damages caused by projected climate change. This assessment will quantify financial, economic, and social damages, including impacts on women and vulnerable communities.
- Identify, appraise, and prioritize adaptation and resilience options
- Prioritized and financed pipeline of climate resilient transport infrastructure projects in the Gambia
- Identified wins for transport sector investments that can be linked to planned investments
- A strong basis for developing tools and methodologies that can be scaled up more rapidly by other partners, including MDBs
- Assessed and quantified climate risk for transport infrastructure, mentorship, and resources to thrive
- Identified, appraised, and prioritized adaptation and resilience options
- Link the national assessment with MDB investment planning cycles and other downstream investment planning opportunities
3000,000 Euros (AAAP Upstream Facility)
African Development Bank, Global Center on Adaptation host dialogue to look at climate risks facing Gambia’s Port of Banjul Fourth Expansion Project

The African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation hosted a virtual dialogue on Monday last week to discuss climate adaptation related to the Port of Banjul Fourth Expansion Project in Gambia.
The proposed project will increase cargo handling and storage capacity of the terminal in order to cope with increasing cargo volumes and trade.
The dialogue was attended by officials from Gambia’s Port Authority, the National Environment Agency, the National Roads Authority, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, the Department of Water Resources, Maersk Line Gambia, clearing and forwarding agency HM Trading, the Great Institute and civil society. The discussions centered on the climate hazards the Port of Banjul is exposed to, and the impact of these hazards on the Port’s assets, operations, and services.
The African Development Bank and European Investment Bank are considering financing the proposed expansion of the Port of Banjul, estimated at $114 million. To this end, the African Development Bank has committed $531,275 to the Gambia Port Authority to finance a feasibility assessment and investment preparation studies to lay the groundwork for the project.
Within the framework of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) – a partnership between the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), GCA is providing technical
assistance worth around €200,000 to mainstream climate resilience into the Expansion Project, utilizing cutting-edge climate analytics to identify and quantify the impacts of physical climate risk on the investment and provide adaptation investment options to climate-proof the investment.
The findings from the climate analytics revealed that climate hazards could lead to cumulative economic damage to the Port of Banjul estimated at $27 million over the next 30 years. This is about 23% of the estimated investment required to upgrade the Port of Banjul. It also emerged that the Port could lose up to 3% of its revenue annually due to the impacts of physical climate risks.
Gambia - Banjul Port 4th Expansion Project
The Banjul Port 4th Expansion Project aims to enhance port infrastructure capacity, facilitate trade facilitation and regional connectivity in the West African sub-region. This regional infrastructure project will enhance economic growth and poverty reduction whilst reducing the transaction costs associated with regional trade. The proposed Banjul Port expansion and modernization Project will also serve as a catalyst for strengthening The Gambia’s position as a major trade and transport corridor hub within the West Africa sub region.
The Port expansion aims to support the economic development of The Gambia, by enhancing its strategic position and competitiveness as a transit and trans-shipment hub in the wider West Africa region.
- Utilizing cutting-edge climate analytics to identify and quantify the impacts of physical climate risk on the investment
- Delivering high resolution climate risks assessments, adaptation and resilience investment options to climate-proof the investment against the impacts of physical climate risks
- Extension of the port jetty by 345 meters to accommodate up to three ships simultaneously instead of one currently
- Provide for the expansion of the container terminal area by 22,000 m2 to create space for unloading ships
- Replacement of a non-functioning ferry plying the Banjul and Bara crossing and widening port access roads by 3km to ease congestion
- Complete and widen the Bund Road access to facilitate traffic flow in and around the access roads leading to the Port of Banjul
- Relocate its current Head Office Complex away from the main operational zone
- Construct a new Container Terminal
- Procurement of Information and communication processing systems for efficient linkages between customs and the terminal operating system
- Significantly reduced ship turnaround time and cut costly congestion and surcharges, enabling reductions in sea freight costs and demurrage payments
- Boost the facility’s capacity to meet growing traffic and improve efficiency in operations and management as it digitizes its procedures
- Climate-friendly and climate-resilient port infrastructure by introduction of green and low-carbon emission ferries
- Empower women's groups through gender-sensitive procurement and provide jobs, especially for the youth
AfDB Investment of USD 44.5 Million of total USD 115 Million
Reinforcing Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS)
The Sahel, which lies between the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, is one of the largest semi-arid/arid sub-regions globally. As such, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change and other uncertainties. The impacts of climate change may have critical socio-economic consequences for the Sahel, including poor agricultural yields, increased frequency of natural disasters. Already, the number of people in the Sahel suffering from chronic food and nutrition insecurity, poverty and vulnerability to the effects of climate change is rising steadily.
A lasting solution to food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel requires building resilience to climate change, long-term agricultural sector financing and developing trade and regional integration. Sustained, longer-term investments in household resilience can significantly reduce the cost of emergency assistance, ultimately breaking the cycle of recurring famine. This is the most cost-effective intervention option which meets the basic needs and preserves the dignity of the populations of the Sahel. This idea is central to the Programme to Build Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2RS)
The overall objective of the P2-P2RS is to contribute to the substantial improvement of the living conditions and the food and nutritional security of the populations of the Sahel region.
Specifically, the program aims to i) strengthen the resilience to climate change of agro-sylvo-pastoral producers, including through promotion of climate-smart agricultural technologies in the Sahel and the development of climate intelligent villages; ii) develop the agro-sylvo-pastoral value chains, including through the development and improvement of hydro, meteorology and climate services; and iii) support regional institutions (CILSS, APGMV, CCRS) to strengthen adaptive capacity in the Sahel.
- Design digital adaptation solutions (Digital Climate Advisory Services, DCAS) for the Sahel context
- Investment readiness and infrastructure, institutional and farmer capacity needs for DCAS
- Feasibility study to integrate DCAS into agricultural extension and agrometeorological advisory to smallholder farmers and pastoralists
- 1 million rural households have access to digital or data-enabled climate-smart technologies
- 500,000 smallholders have adopted adaptation practices
- 5 million smallholders have access to climate services;
- Development and improvement of hydro, meteorology and climate services
- The development of climate-intelligent villages
- Promotion of climate-smart agricultural technologies in the Sahel
- Resilience to food and nutrition security built for the targeted populations
USD 300 million
Adaptation Futures Conference
Venue: Montreal, Canada (Hybrid)
The Adaptation Futures 2023 conference aims to learn from Indigenous, local knowledge and voices in climate change adaptation research, policies, practices and actions around the world, accelerate the adoption of transformative adaptation for long-term resilience, bring marginalized voices, especially from the Global South, to the forefront in pursue of climate justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and accelerate momentum towards the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Global Stocktake and build on action to implement effective adaptation.
Conference themes include:
- Learning from Indigenous and local peoples knowledge and expertise in adaptation
- Dealing with multiple risks: Compound, cascading, cross-border climate change risks
- Making adaptation choices: managing trade-offs and seeking effective adaptation
- When we can no longer adapt
- Who wins, who loses, who decides: Equity and justice in adaptation
- The power of nature for climate action
- Teaching and learning adaptation in a changing climate
- Inclusive adaptation governance and finance: how do we get there?
AAAP Participation
- AAAP side event session under the sub-theme, Accelerators of Innovations as part Innovation Days of the World Bank Adaptation Fund SubConference. The session is titled, “The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program: A Transformative Initiative for Climate Change Adaptation in Africa to be held on 4th October at 1330 – 1430hours
- Joint IDRC and AAAP session titled, Youth Climate Adaptation Leadership: Insights from capacity building, knowledge brokering and entrepreneurship programs to feature the YouthADAPT initiative.