Biggest post-independence road project gets going

Namibia is continuing to invest in its transport corridors. One of the biggest projects is the construction of the eastwest Rundu-Elundu Road via Nkurenkuru along the Angolan border, which was announced last year by President Hifikepunye Pohamba. It is the biggest road tarring project since indepenendence. According to Pohamba, the project involves the tarring of over 300 kilometres of road to enable the “safer movement of people and goods from the Kavango Region to Ohangwena and beyond”. Namibia has spread the construction contracts. According to the Namibia Economist, China's Henan International Cooperation won the tender to construct the first 134 kilometre phase of the road. This phase is scheduled for completion in October 2010. Funding is provided through a loan from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, with repayment over 15 years at an interest rate of 0,9%, according to the Economist. In April this year South African company Raubex announced that it had been awarded a R1-billion contract for two sections of the road. They are situated between Nkurenkuru and Elundu. Work on the contracts is due to start in May and continue for about two years.