Woodbridge, VA – February 4, 2016 –MAG Services Group (MAG SG) officially handed over the Bassikounou Runway Upgrade project to the US Army Corps of Engineers in January 2016. Bassikounou is a small village in the south east of Mauritania, near the border with Mali. The project, funded by the US but in support of the World Food Program, involved the rehabilitation of 1,200 metres of the Bassikounou airstrip, an unpaved runway. The impact of this project is significant for humanitarian relief, as this increased capacity of the airfield now enables access to beneficiaries in the Mbera refugee camp during the rainy season.
Before MAG SG rehabilitated the Bassikounou airstrip, transporting life-saving relief items from Nouakchott would normally take three or four days during the dry season, and much longer during the rainy season. Now with a fully operational runway, passengers and cargo can be moved between Nouakchott and Bassikounou in a mere three hours.
“This was one of the most challenging projects we have done to date,” said Micheline Pollock, CEO of MAG SG. “The location was near impossible to access, security was a major concern, our Site Manager lived with the locals in the remote town and communications were intermittent at best. However, the key to MAG’s success was a strong Mauritanian partner who ensured we had the critical localized support necessary to execute.”
The project was delivered ahead of schedule and the runway has been in operation for over 1 year but officially signed off this month. A runway in Bassikounou is an invaluable part of the regional logistics and infrastructure ensuring humanitarian cargo can reach the beneficiaries in a timely manner.
About MAG Services Group
MAG Services Group is an independent, privately owned company, comprised of a team seasoned experts in the delivery of projects in some of the harshest and challenging environments globally. Established in 2009 to provide engineering, infrastructure and services in Afghanistan supporting both The Coalition and US Military Forces. With a successful track record in project delivery and over 50 US Government contracts delivered in the region, the company, headquartered in Dubai now operates in 11 different countries throughout MENA, East and West Africa.
MAG Services Group is a US registered affiliate of MAG Logistics, a Canadian registered and owned company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. http://www.magsg.com/
