The Walvis Bay Municipality, Road Authority (RA), and the Road Fund Administration (RFA) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to ensure continuous refurbishment of roads used by cargo traffic.
Through the memorandum, the RFA is committing N$248 million over five years for the rehabilitation and widening of municipal roads leading to the Port of Walvis Bay.
The targeted roads are for traffic destined for local, regional, and international markets at Walvis Bay.
RFA Chief Executive Officer Ali Ipinge said Namibia’s goal of becoming a gateway hub will lead to an influx of road usage at the harbour town.
“As Namibia seeks to strategically position itself as a gateway to the Southern Africa economic market, through the deepened and expanded Port of Walvis Bay, more cargo volumes will pass through Walvis Bay destined to neighbouring countries. This subsequently increases the usage of the roads in Walvis Bay and in particular, the roads leading towards the port,” he said.
“These funds will be derived from the RUCS (Road User Charges) funding. A key aspect of the MoA is to ensure continuous and timely upkeep of the roads used by cargo traffic destined for local, regional, and international markets.”
The CEO further noted that RFA reemphasises the significant role it plays in the Namibian road network development and expansion.
“Our mandate extends to the provision of financial support to the local authorities for the maintenance of their urban, rural (or village), and settlement roads. The funding allocated is determined and applied based on the principles of economic efficiency, safety, equity, and transparency, within the Road User Charging instruments,” said Ipinge.
The Erongo Region, being the mining and industrial hub of the country, has benefited from major capital roadwork projects, such as the upgrade of MR44 & TR2/1 Walvis Bay-Swakopmund dual carriageways and MR44 & MR76 Swakopmund-Henties Bay-Uis-Kamanjab, to name a few.
“These strategic corridor upgrades are in line with positioning Namibia as a logistics hub by 2025 and attaining the vision of an industrialised nation by 2030. The prospects of the green hydrogen production and recent discoveries in the oil & gas energy sectors would require road infrastructure that can support and sustain future primary and secondary industries,” Ipinge highlighted.
Over the past 2.5 years, funding allocations to the local authorities have more than doubled from N$104 million to N$216 million.
The RFA’s ambitious targets set in its ISBP are only achievable with support from road users paying their fair share of the RUCs and the government’s support to keep the N$120 billion road asset in good and acceptable condition.
On this note, Ipinge noted that RFA has committed to increasing its investments in the road sector by 25% for the period 2023 to 2028 to accommodate strategic and key national road projects.
Through the joint MoA, the RFA, RA, and Walvis Bay Municipality will ensure added support to the national vision of promoting national road corridors and logistical hub ideals as enshrined in Namibia’s Vision 2030.
