By Foibe Paavo
WALVIS BAY, June 4 – Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes briefed the media on Thursday, 2 June on the council’s current developments and gave feedback on completed projects.
He said that the land delivery at Extension 8 Narraville was budgeted for the previous year but, due to the depressed economy, a full servicing of this extension did not materialise.
However, he added, the council will soon start with the development of a portion which will include a much-needed cemetery as well as about a 100 single residential erven and some other zone properties.
The budgeted amount for this will be about N$28 million for 2022-2023.
Green Valley, also known as Farm 37, is an enormous area. On Green Valley Proper,
Extensions 1 to 4 have been completed as far as town planning matters are concerned. The design of internal services infrastructure for Proper Extensions 1 and Extension 2 has also been completed.
Construction of gravel roads and communal sanitation facilities has been completed.
Consultants are working on designing communal services for Portion 11, as well as the cost for the option of providing solar streetlights and communal lights at Portion 10.
He further stated that roads in Walvis Bay have been deteriorating over time, however, the council is in the process of addressing the state of this vital infrastructure. As a result, the council has resolved to have an in-house small-scale portal repair team which will save the council a substantial amount of funds.
Currently, the council is busy upgrading gravel roads at a cost of N$9.3 million. The contract had already been awarded and 99% of the project was completed, although minor work still needed to be done with speed bumps to be completed by the end of June 2022.
An amount of N$4.7 million was also awarded for the rehabilitation of intersections. The Hidipo Hamutenya circumferential road is due to be completed by 6 June, and rehabilitation of Sam Nuyoma Avenue and Hana Mubatani Road will commence thereafter. The completion of roads is anticipated to take two months.
A N$4.0 million contract was awarded for the resealing of various streets in Fairways, Lagoon, Narraville and Kuisebmond with the work due to finish in August
An amount of N$5.6 million was set aside for routine road maintenance. The work was awarded to two contractors and is due for completion in August.
“The issue of housing is also one of the major issues we’ve been tackling. As about N$50 million is still owed by debtors, “ the mayor said.
The allocation and sale on a “first come, first serve basis,” is done for selected beneficiaries, according to the waiting list.
The latest status of allocated houses shows that 32 clients have been declined, 15 are still pending and 21 have been approved.
The mayor said that committee needed to reallocate 34 houses to the qualifying clients on the waiting list.
Meanwhile, 20 sinkholes and 70 manholes have been repaired to date in Walvis Bay. – Namibia Daily News
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