Africa-Press – Gambia. A storm of outrage is brewing over revelations that the Turkish company Albayrak allegedly sought to use the Banjul Port as collateral for a private bank loan, a move now described as a threat to national sovereignty.
In a statement released on October 27, 2025, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) called for the immediate termination of the Albayrak concession agreement, describing the act as “scandalous” and “an affront to national sovereignty.”
The rights group’s reaction follows a leaked letter from the Managing Director of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Ousman Jobarteh, addressed to Albayrak. Dated October 15, 2025, the letter raised strong objections to the company’s bid to secure a loan from Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited without the knowledge or consent of the GPA, a violation of the existing Concession Agreement.
Jobarteh’s letter noted that the proposed credit facility “introduces a potential encumbrance” on the Banjul Port’s assets and warned that the GPA “cannot and does not consent” to any loan that uses the port as security. He stressed that such financing deviates from the original project structure and risk-sharing model agreed upon between the parties.
EFSCRJ argued that the development shatters the government’s earlier justification that Albayrak had the financial capacity to modernize the Banjul Port and construct a new port in Sanyang. “If Albayrak were truly capable, it would not be seeking loans, much less proposing to pledge a sovereign asset as collateral,” the statement read.
The Centre further accused the company of acting “behind the back” of its Gambian partner, calling the move “bad faith” and grounds for immediate contract termination. It described the 30-year concession as “economically irrational, politically irresponsible, and morally indefensible,” warning that it amounts to an “economic crime” against the Gambian people.
EFSCRJ demanded the restoration of full control of the Banjul Port to the state, a parliamentary inquiry into the deal, and reforms to protect all strategic national assets.
“The Banjul Port is Gambian heritage not for sale, not for collateral, and not for exploitation,” the Centre declared.
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