17 April 2009
Windhoek — President Hifikepunye Pohamba said this week that more than N$720 million has been invested in road maintenance programmes since last year. This includes the resealing of paved roads, routine maintenance, special maintenance of bridges, maintenance of road reserves and road signs, re-gravelling, and re-compaction of gravel roads.
"We must continue to invest in our infrastructure in order to achieve our strategic development goals and secondly, we must act quickly to repair the damage caused by flood waters in the northern and north eastern Namibia," Pohamba said.
In October last year, Cabinet approved an amount of N$45 million from the Contingency Fund to repair the road infrastructure damaged by floods in the northern and north eastern regions of the country.
The roads in question include the road between Okalongo and Outapi, the road to Onheleiwa, the road between MR111 and Onaanda, the road between Ondangwa and Onakamwandi and the road between Ondangwa and Ohalushu.
"Other roads and bridges under the flood repair programme are the Uukwiyu-Omukandu road; Oshakati-Ompundja road; Oshakati-Endola Road; the Ogongo-Olutsiidhi road and the Ongwediva bridge. Due to the exceptionally high floods this year, most of these roads have again been washed away. The Regional Roads Master Plans for Oshikoto, Oshana, Omusati, Ohangwena and Kavango were revised. The feasibility study for the improvement of the Otavi-Tsumeb road was completed in September last year," he said.
Pohamba added that the government is studying the possibility of tarring the Swakopmund-Henties Bay-Kamanjab road. The tarring of the road between Kamanjab and Omakange covering a distance of 104 km was completed last year at the cost of N$178 million.
The rehabilitation of the road between Okahandja and Karibib to the tune of N$305 million, which started in February last year, is progressing well. The tarring of the road between Rosh Pinah and the Sendelingsdrif turn-off commenced in January last year and is expected to be completed in May this year. Work has also started on Phase 1 of the tarring of the road between Tsumeb and Katwitwi, at the border with Angola, at a cost of N$800 million.
Other projects include: Gobabis to Otjinene road via Drimiopsis, at a cost of N$600 million; widening of Divundu Bridge at a cost of N$44 million; Omakange to Okahao road at a cost of N$345 million and the Oshikuku to Okalongo road.
"A Feasibility Study will be conducted to construct a bridge connecting Impalila Island to Zambia and Botswana as part of the Kazungula Bridge. Other labour works construction projects include: Ompundja to Eheke gravel road; Ekamba to Onkani road; Tondoro to Kamupupu road; Rupara-Muveve-Gcangcu road, Liselo-Linyanti-Singalamwe bitumen road and the road to Mangetti West Quarantine Camp," he said.
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