GCA Supports the Development of Climate-Resilient Transport and Energy Infrastructure in The Gambia
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otterdam, Netherlands, 30 April 2025 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today announced its technical support for a transformative $100 million World Bank–financed investment to enhance climate resilience in The Gambia’s transport and energy sectors. Delivered under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)—a joint initiative with the African Development Bank—the initiative aims to upgrade core infrastructure to withstand worsening climate shocks while improving access to critical services for communities across the country.
The investment will address persistent challenges in a country where nearly half the rural population lives more than two kilometres from an all-season road and energy access remains highly unequal, especially outside urban areas. The Gambia, a low-lying nation acutely vulnerable to climate impacts such as flooding, sea-level rise, and extreme heat, is already witnessing the damage from increasingly erratic climate conditions. The project will upgrade approximately 150 kilometres of road infrastructure to all-season, climate-resilient standards and reinforce over 200 kilometres of power transmission infrastructure to enhance electricity access and reliability for rural and urban populations alike.
In support of this effort, GCA is undertaking a comprehensive technical assistance program that integrates climate risk assessment with the identification and prioritization of cost-effective, resilient infrastructure solutions. The program builds on previous GCA engagements in The Gambia, including work on the Port of Banjul Extension and support to the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility, and is closely aligned with the government’s National Development Plan, National Transport Policy (2018–2027), and Electricity Sector Roadmap (2021–2040).
“This project represents a critical step forward in climate-proofing The Gambia’s infrastructure and securing access to essential services for vulnerable communities,” said Professor Patrick V. Verkooijen, President and CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation. “By integrating adaptation into transport and energy investments today, we are helping The Gambia build a more resilient and inclusive future—one where climate risks no longer dictate development outcomes but are managed through smart, forward-looking action.”
GCA’s analysis will cover both the physical infrastructure—roads, transmission lines, jetties—and the systems that maintain them. Its support includes a full-scale climate hazard and vulnerability assessment of intermodal transport and energy networks, identifying how flood risks, heat extremes, and coastal erosion will affect access to healthcare, markets, food, and employment. These insights will be used to inform design standards and asset management practices, ensuring the sustainability of infrastructure investments across their entire life cycle.
The project will also help mainstream nature-based solutions—such as mangrove protection for jetties and wetlands buffering road infrastructure—into national investment frameworks. By highlighting the economic and social co-benefits of climate resilience, particularly for women and marginalized communities, GCA aims to support a just and equitable transition. Women, who are disproportionately affected by energy poverty and limited transport access, will benefit from gender-responsive vulnerability assessments and the prioritization of infrastructure that supports safe mobility, livelihoods, and healthcare access.
The World Bank’s project comprises several complementary components that focus on physical upgrades to roads and transmission networks, policy reforms to create an enabling environment, and institutional strengthening for public agencies including the National Roads Authority and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. GCA will support these efforts by providing technical guidelines for climate-resilient road and energy infrastructure design, and delivering an AAAP Masterclass on Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships tailored for Gambian stakeholders.
By working at both asset and systems levels, the GCA-supported project lays the foundation for a new era of climate-resilient infrastructure development in The Gambia. It will create jobs, increase rural and urban connectivity, and ensure universal energy access is achieved without deepening vulnerability. Above all, it provides a model for integrated, inclusive adaptation that can be scaled across West Africa and beyond.
