The City of Windhoek says it has approved the development of a new extension at Rocky Crest to comprise 227 plots.
The proposed extension, called Rocky Crest Extension 8, measuring about 25 hectares, will be made up of 168 residential plots, with three for general residential use, aimed at addressing the escalating demand for urban housing in Windhoek, and offers a mixed land use concept.
“It is situated to the south of the existing Rocky Crest Township, along the eastern boundary of Otjomuise Road, and the northwestern boundary of Bernt Carlson Road,” the municipality said.
“It borders on a small section of the Rocky Crest Extension 5 development. The development offers a mixed land use concept place of work and live where people can live and work in the same space, and it supports the Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan (SUTMP), which proposes access through collector roads 25 metres wide, providing enough space for taxi stops and ranks, as well as bus stops.”
The City of Windhoek said the proposed development is expected to open up possibilities for housing and economic sustainability.
“Namibia’s urban centres are experiencing rapid growth, which poses a huge challenge to local authorities in providing serviced land for housing,” the City said.
“The Municipal Council of Windhoek is no exception, and with a huge influx of people into the City, the demand for serviced land is ever increasing. The provision of serviced land for development is amongst the City’s biggest challenges, with more than half of Windhoek’s residents residing in informal settlements, not to mention the array of economic challenges emanating from this,” the municipality added.
The plans by the municipality come as is it still to determine the funding model for the planned Cimbebasia high-density housing project, consisting of more than 900 housing units being built under a Council Rental Housing Concept.
The ambitious project to be constructed on a 24-hectare land made available and to be serviced by the municipality, will be located south of Mataman Street in Cimbebasia.
According to the municipality, the housing unit prices when it was launched in 2021, were to range between N$380,000 and N$650,000 against the current Windhoek average house price of N$1.236 million.
In 2021 the municipality launched the Rocky Crest Extension 4 development, under which 300 houses were to be constructed.
The development was a partnership involving the Windhoek City Council, the Development Bank of Namibia, Ino Harith Capital, Namibia Contractors and Tweya Land Developers through a public-private partnership, the project included the servicing of plots and the construction of 300 houses on 37 hectares of land.
The City of Windhoek alone is estimated to have about 55,000 individuals on its housing waiting list.