Works Deputy Minister bemoans road construction costs

OTAMANZI, 01 JUN – Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, James Sankwasa has bemoaned sky-rocketing costs of road constructions in the country and promised that his Ministry will table the Construction Industry Bill in Parliament later this year.
Speaking whilst officiating at the inauguration of a gravel district road (DR) 3681 from Epato via Otamanzi to Onaushe settlement in the Omusati Region on Thursday, Sankwasa said Namibia does not have Construction Industry Control Legislation in place to control the industry.
He believes time has come where Namibians must interrogate the current sky-rocketing costs of the road construction works.
“Some eight to 10 years ago, road construction to bitumen standard cost around N.dollars 3 to 4 million per kilometre (km) and gravel road construction ranged between N.dollars 1 to 2 million per km, but today we stand at around N.dollars 20 to 30 million per km,” Sankwasa stated.
He added that in certain instances the costs are being estimated at over N.dollars 40 million per km, which, according to him, is not sustainable to a country with a vast geographic distances like Namibia.
Sankwasa demanded to know how many roads shall be constructed in the country if such a trend continues, and the costs of road and building construction works in other SADC countries and beyond.
He wants Namibians to exercise patriotism and to ensure that resources availed to the Ministry of Works and Transport by both the government and other sources are used efficiently for effective service delivery and to avoid unnecessary wastage.
Sankwasa at the same time encouraged contractors to construct quality roads and other construction work which are completed within the specified budgets and set time periods.
“I am and will remain a big advocate for ensuring that we get value for money on our construction projects,” said Sankwasa.
The construction of the 36.6km Epato-Otamanzi-Onaushe DR 3681 spanned a period of over 24 months at a cost of N.dollars 63.9 million and it was co-financed by the government and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) of Germany.
(NAMPA)