The Ministry of Works and Transport has upgraded and completed 210 kilometres of railway infrastructure during the 2025/26 financial year.
The achievement forms part of a wider railway development programme aimed at upgrading, constructing, maintaining and modernising the national railway network through TransNamib in support of the Railway Master Plan. The ministry presented the progress during its stakeholder engagement with the National Council under the theme 'Catalysing Economic Growth through Transport and Public Works'.
The presentation outlined the ministry's achievements, planned investments and challenges facing the transport and public works sectors.
210km upgraded
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The ministry reported that 210km of the national railway network was upgraded and completed during 2025/26.
Progress was also recorded on the Kranzberg-Otjiwarongo railway upgrade, where 16 300 tonnes of rails and 48 turnouts were delivered, representing 40% of Lot 1.
On the Otjiwarongo-Tsumeb/Otavi-Grootfontein rail upgrade, procurement and supply activities had commenced, with the project reaching 11.4% progress. Railway earthworks on the Kranzberg-Otjiwarongo project also advanced, with Sections one and three reaching 23% and 17% completion, respectively. Meanwhile, earthworks on the Sandverhaar-Buchholzbrunn railway project reached 85% completion, demonstrating progress across several sections of the national rail network. The ministry has also begun modernising the locomotive fleet.
Four locomotives have been stripped for remanufacturing under the fleet modernisation programme. The ministry's strategic targets are even more ambitious.
It plans to have 100 km of railway network upgraded by 2026/27, increasing to 1 360 km by 2028/29, while maintaining 1 600 km of railway annually.
The Railway Master Plan is targeted to reach 28% completion, while railway primary legislation is expected to reach 80% review progress.
Millions
The scale of the government's commitment to rail is reflected in the 2026/27 budget. The ministry has allocated N$952.061 million to its Railway Infrastructure Programme. Of this amount, N$946 million is earmarked for development, while N$6.061 million is allocated to operational expenditure.
The allocation is intended to support the upgrading, construction, maintenance and modernisation of the national railway network through TransNamib and in line with the Railway Master Plan.
The ministry has also included railway network development among its prioritised programmes, alongside the acquisition of rolling stock, construction of new railway infrastructure, upgrading of existing infrastructure and railway maintenance.
Corridors
The railway developments come as Namibia's transport corridors continue to play an important role in regional trade.
According to the ministry, the country's transport corridors currently handle more than 2.4 million tonnes of cargo annually, excluding fuel. This places greater pressure on the country to maintain and modernise its rail and road infrastructure to support increased cargo movement and regional trade.
Roads
While rail was a major highlight, the ministry also recorded several achievements in road infrastructure. The Windhoek-Hosea Kutako International Airport dual carriageway Phase 2A was completed at a cost of N$949.9 million, while Phase 2B was completed at N$1.035 billion.
The ministry also completed 23km of the Omulondo-Oshuuli gravel road at a cost of N$53.4 million.
For the 2026/27 financial year, the ministry has set a target of upgrading 2 300 km of roads from gravel to bitumen standard, rehabilitating 725 km of roads and constructing one weighbridge and one vehicle registration centre.
Fleet
The ministry also disposed of 492 obsolete government vehicles through auction, generating N$30.1 million.
On renewable energy, an additional 42kWp of solar photovoltaic capacity was installed at government facilities, together with an electric vehicle charging station.
In aviation, the Automatic Weather Observing System reached 80% completion at Hosea Kutako, Eros and Walvis Bay airports, while Namibia achieved a 79.1% ICAO Effective Implementation Score, exceeding African and global averages.
Government stores generated N$64.45 million through stock sales, while contracts worth N$256.5 million were awarded to Namibian-owned companies.
The ministry also established a database of local manufacturers to support the government's 'Growth at Home' initiative.
Public works
The ministry completed two workshops and a storeroom at the Outapi Maintenance Office, fenced the Tsumkwe Sub-Office and completed fencing and water reticulation at the Katjinakatji Sub-Office.
Renovation and maintenance work was completed across nine regions, while 116 prepaid water meters were installed at Nesser Huis.
At Windhoek Central Hospital, the hot-water system was restored, and bath-to-shower conversions were completed in wards. At Katutura Intermediate Hospital, an oxygen plant, medical gas system and bedhead units were commissioned.
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The ministry's construction portfolio now exceeds N$8 billion.
Capacity
Despite the progress, the ministry acknowledged several challenges that could affect implementation.
Among the major concerns are limited budget allocations, high turnover in strategic positions, slow law-making, poor project management, unsynchronised planning and cumbersome public procurement processes. The ministry also identified delays in responding to queries, ineffective stakeholder coordination and communication, weak oversight tools for delegated functions and bureaucratic processes affecting regional councils.
The ministry has an approved establishment of 2 625 positions, but only 1 543 are filled, leaving 903 vacancies, representing a 34.4% overall vacancy
rate.
The Department of Works carries the largest vacancy burden, with 515 vacancies and a 57% vacancy rate, while the Department of Transport has 46 vacancies.
The ministry says it is responding through improved recruitment processes, prioritising strategic positions, strengthening planning and budgeting, introducing a computerised project-management system and improving procurement planning.
