Construction industry booming

WALVIS BAY
Otis Finck
Otis Finck

The Walvis Bay municipal council approved and recorded building plans to the total value of over N$1,1 billion since November 2015 to December 2017.

The value of completed structures stood at N$735 million for the same period.

Mayor Immanuel Wilfred previously pointed out during the last ordinary council meeting for 2017 that although the construction industry experienced a slow performance countrywide, during the current financial and calendar year, the town recorded building plan approvals to the value of N$195 million.

The value of completed building structures was recorded at approximately N$230 million. These figures relate to the construction activities covering a period of nine months.

Engagements with the ministry of urban and rural development are ongoing for the establishment of a residential township on Farm 37. The required town planning documentation has been forwarded to the relevant authorities for further processing.

A total of 135 fully serviced residential erven in Meersig and 52 industrial erven at Extension 14 are available.

Forty two contractors of whom the majority are SMEs and Walvis Bay based were appointed to participate in the construction of affordable housing under the Massive Urban Land Servicing Project currently underway in Kuisebmond and Walvis Bay (town). The target is to construct approximately 900 houses in Kuisebmond and Walvis Bay. A total of 546 houses have been constructed in Kuisebmond and Narraville.

Hundred erven were allocated to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and 64 houses have already been constructed in Kuisebmond. In total, 86 erven were allocated to the same group in Narraville where earthworks commenced recently.

In Kuisebmond Extension 10, 102 erven have been serviced at a cost of N$20 million.

Council is also in the process of establishing a master plan for Farm 58 behind the Dune 7 area that will lead towards the establishment of a heavy industrial township. Ownership of the land was transferred to council last year. The total area of Farm 58 is over 2 800 hectares of which 400 hectares is reserved for the ministry of trade, industrialization and SME development through the national development corporation (NDC).

The types of investments intended for the area includes commercial and logistics, metal and metallurgy, energy and power generation plants, coal storage facilities, automotive parts and components, refineries, chemical production and general heavy industries.

Council is optimistic that Walvis Bay can become a centre of excellence for training in Namibia in the next two years. Land has been allocated and approved to a number of educational institutions including the International University of Management and the directorate of education of the Erongo regional council. Further details are also awaited from the Namibia University of Science and Technology, the establishment of a vocational training centre and the University of Namibia which plans to set up a maritime school.

A tender has been allocated for the upgrading of the informal trade area (Ekutu) to the value of N$1,5 million and a contractor is on site. Land was also allocated to Cloud Sky for the construction of a shopping mall in Extension 7, Kuisebmond.