NAWEC Says Infrastructure Expansion, Not Generation, Accounts for Most Energy Sector Investment

By Makutu Manneh

The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has defended the pace of improvements in The Gambia’s electricity supply, saying much of the hundreds of millions invested in the sector over recent years has been directed toward expanding electricity access and modernizing transmission infrastructure rather than increasing power generation.

Speaking on the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), NAWEC’s Public Relations Officer, Buba Badjie, said public frustration over persistent power outages often overlooks how development funding has been allocated.

According to Badjie, the majority of investment has been channeled through electricity access projects, enabling the country to significantly expand its national grid. He said approximately 90 percent of the population now has access to electricity, with the government aiming to achieve universal access by the end of 2026.

He added that The Gambia currently ranks first among countries in the ECOWAS West Africa Zone 2 grouping in electricity access and could rank second across the wider West African region.

Badjie said recent investments have focused heavily on strengthening the country’s transmission and distribution network, including replacing aging open-type transformers with approximately 52 new units and constructing four to five primary substations nationwide.

Those upgrades, he said, have made the network more resilient by allowing NAWEC to divide electricity feeders into separate zones, reducing the impact of localized faults.

“This is different from the funding done for production; that is the generation aspect,” Badjie said. “What has been spent, if we say it is 100 million, for example, perhaps 80 million was already spent on access projects and transmission and distribution.”

He said the redesigned network now enables engineers to isolate faults in one area without disrupting service across neighboring communities. As an example, he said an outage in Lamin can now be contained while electricity continues flowing to areas such as Abuko.

Badjie contrasted the current system with conditions in 2021 and 2022, when transmission lines across the Greater Banjul Area were heavily congested, making it more difficult for technicians to identify and repair faults. He said infrastructure projects, including the Jambur Area Modernization (JAM) initiative, have since eased pressure on the network.

He encouraged members of the public to visit NAWEC facilities in Kotu and Jabang to observe the scale of infrastructure investments, arguing that those familiar with the electricity sector would recognize the extent of the work that has been undertaken.

Badjie also cited continued support from development partners as evidence that reforms are producing results. He said the World Bank has recently committed an additional D150 million to the country’s energy sector, describing the pledge as a vote of confidence in NAWEC’s ongoing modernization efforts.

He concluded by urging Gambians to preserve peace and stability, saying a stable environment is essential to attracting further investment needed to strengthen the country’s electricity system.

“I think we should all be grateful that there is peace, and let us maintain that so we will have more of this,” he said.