Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center is a 14,000 square meters conference center in The Gambia, located in Kombo North/Saint Mary. [1] The project began in 2017 and inaugurated in January 2020. [2] The construction of the part was controversial because it the construction removed important land from the Bijilo Forest Park, a popular tourist location and natural space home to endangered Western red colobus monkeys. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The conference center was built and funded by Chinese investment of US$50 million in the country. [1] [2] The center was treated as an important international gesture between the two countries, the first collaborative project since resumption of relations. [1] The center was built in part to host the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. [2] The first major event in the space was the Annual General Meeting of the African Development Bank in August 2020. [7]
The center was named after Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the first president of The Gambia. [2]