It could take the City of Windhoek (CoW) close to four years to finalise modalities for the development of its ambitious Cimbebasia high density housing project, The Brief has established.
Information gathered by this publication show that Nova Actus Holdings (PTY) LTD, a company registered by the municipality to deal with land and housing development in the capital and expected to play a leading role in the realisation of the project, is yet to be operationalised.
The city fathers are also still to define how they plan to fund the massive housing development, where 900 houses are expected to be built to ease the capital city’s housing backlog, despite initial indications that the planning and conceptualisation phase of the project was to be completed by December 2021.
“The recommendation from the land and housing workshop is that, within a period of six months, a subsidiary under Nova Actus Holding company submit a funding proposal to Council for consideration inclusive of a proposal on insurance for low-cost housing. Council decision was passed at the end of October 2021, therefore in calculating the six months, cognisance should be had that there is a recess in December and January. Positive steps to operationalise Nova Actus were taken and the company will be operationalised soon. After operationalisation, Nova Actus will submit a funding model for Council’s consideration,” CoW Spokesperson Harald Akwenye told The Brief.
“Depending on the speed we are working on, it can take place earlier. The housing and property management department has started with all procedures. The layout of the development and prototype have been presented to management. The ball is rolling….”
Akwenye, however, was evasive on when the project is expected to start, including land clearing.
“(It) suffices to mention that the housing project planned for Cimbebasia is a major project that requires careful and execution to ensure its success. In implementing the project, the municipality will adhere to strict project management principles,” he said.
“Within Year 1 from the passing of the decision, Council will develop plans and proposals for a Municipal Rental Housing Concept on a site in Cimbebasia with a potential yield of over 900 housing units. The development proposal will capture a paradigm shift on the provision of high-density housing and promote quality living space where the young and old will live side-by-side. The proposal will take into consideration issues such as aesthetics, privacy (limited access to private living space) etc. From Year 2 to Year 4 the development proposal will be refined and shared with the Technical Team, Executive Leadership and Councillors for input. Immediately after input, which should be in Year 2, final plans will be prepared for implementation. The preparation for implementation includes securing funds, groundbreaking follows finalisation of designs and securing of funds.”
The ambitious project to be constructed on at least 24 hectares of 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 will range between N$380 000 and N$650 000 against the current Windhoek average house price of N$1.236 million according to the FNB House Price Index.
The City of Windhoek alone is estimated to have about 55 000 individuals on its housing waiting list.
