30 April 2008
Luederitz — Luederitz Mayor Emilia Amupewa has called on the business community and potential investors to participate in and support the realisation of phase two of the town's Waterfront project.
The N$200 million investment project is designed to realise the potential of the town as a business, recreational, tourist and social focus destination.
Speaking at the first lobster festival at the town on Saturday, Amupewa said the project was mainly aimed at creating jobs for the many jobless at the town.
Luederitz is home to about 40 000 inhabitants.
According to her, the project will facilitate the diversification of the town's economy and will also strengthen the economy of southern Namibia.
The project is also envisaged to include a new hotel, state-of-the-art conference centre, retail business, entertainment and residential components as well as sea-facing upmarket offices.
"I would, therefore, call upon prospective investors to participate in this ambitious project under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), and the Government to demonstrate its usual generosity to provide necessary funding and support to ensure the full realisation of the planned ambitious project.
On its part, the Town Council has been working diligently to reform the local economy in order to meet present demands faced by our immediate constituents.
The town's economic programmes, pronouncements and actions bear testimony to this fact," she noted.
Agate Beach, a few kilometres northeast of the town, as a classic example of an investment opportunity at Luederitz, she said.
Amupewa said it was an untapped, sizeable seafront piece of land with great potential for development.
The Luederitz Waterfront Development Company is at present also negotiating the purchase of erven.
According to a proposed concept plan, the site can be offered to hotel chains or other private investors for the development of a new hotel located at the most beneficial position in the town, taking into account the impact of the waterfront to the area.
Although extensive residential facilities are planned above and below the retail outlet, the main residential component consists of holiday flats on four levels, positioned between the retail outlet and the proposed hotel.
This building maximises the potential of the site, providing holiday-goers and investors with a unique view over Robert Harbour.
The growth of the town as a result of the latest developments, especially the new coal terminal which is expected to be completed in the year 2012, will undoubtedly result in a shortage of accommodation in the near future.
Currently, the town is already experiencing a shortage of accommodation facilities.
The proposed concept also suggests that the hotel should accommodate conference facilities and provide staff training, which does not exist at present.
The size of the hotel and the number of rooms will have to be determined by the investor after a proper survey has been conducted.
Amupewa stressed that it is imperative that the town should find alternative viable economic sectors which it can rely upon for its future survival in support of the diamond and fishing industries.
"In its quest to promote people-centred development through new and sustainable investment, the town provides the private sector with numerous opportunities as Luederitz offers limitless investment opportunities," the mayor said.
She stressed that the tourism sector occupied a special place in the council's programmes, as it promised to provide much-needed job opportunities that would reduce the high poverty level in the town to empower the locals and enhance their prosperity.
The festival, with the theme 'Join us for crayfish boil', was a joint initiative between the local business community and the town council in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
Nampa
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