The developer of the multi-million-dollar project, Basil Smit, told The Namibian that many people were asking what would happen at Swakopmund in the event of such a disaster.

"Everybody is worried, but nobody went as far as wanting to cancel their transactions," said Smit.

The first row of houses, which is built below the acceptable norm of five metres above the high-water mark, have become a regular topic of discussion at the coast.

Smit said many people were very negative about it, but on the other hand "everybody wants to buy property with a sea view".

The developer said the building line was three metres above the high-water mark and was done in accordance with a specific engineering design.

He said the design incorporated the possibility of a 100-year wave, and the floor level of the front row of houses was three metres above this mark.

The so-called 100-year wave is, however, a wind-generated wave, and not a tsunami wave caused by undersea earthquakes.

"During the past six months of construction we have had two big spring tides and not once did the water come close to the houses. If it was going to happen, it should have by now," said Smit.

According to Gunther Huelsmann, acting Town Engineer of the Swakopmund Municipality, the only real danger from the sea is an unusually high spring tide.

He said although the Waterfront houses were built "very close to the high-water mark", it was too early to judge.

"The beach area is exposed to swell from the southwest mainly, but once the marina has been built it will provide much more protection," he said.

He said it was not only the Waterfront that would be in danger "in the unlikely event of a tsunami", or very big waves, but all beachfront properties.

In June 2002, rough seas caused waves of up to three metres high to flood seafront houses and streets near the Jetty and other beachfront areas.

Huelsmann said Swakopmund experiences a big swell every few years.

The regulation in place is that buildings must be above the high-water mark.

"If people want to have the pleasure of living close to the sea, they must take the risk."

He said it was a matter of proper construction to prevent flooding during high tides.

The houses in Molen Weg near the Jetty are often affected by high tides, while waves also wash over the road at Vineta Point, where the Waterfront houses are being built.

Some people differ with Smit, saying the waves did wash in between the Waterfront houses during a recent spring tide.

The critics, including scientists and residents, feel the Waterfront building line is too close to the sea for comfort.

One person remarked: " Don't they realise this is the Atlantic Ocean?" Smit maintains the uninterrupted sea view from the top floor of the beachfront houses is "fantastic".

"Nowhere else in the world will you be able to live like this. It is illegal to build so close to the sea anywhere else. We are very privileged."

He said the construction of the N$40-million first phase, including 72 town houses, was going well.

The first nine houses were handed over in December and the owners have already moved in.

Building of the 45 single residential houses will start soon, while the marina development is likely to start in April.

Entech has been appointed as engineers and developers for the marina.

The final design was selected and incorporates an 80-metre breakwater into the sea.

A model of the design was built and will be tested in a wave tank by the Counsel for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa.

"On computer the design is viable, but the testing in the tank will give us 100 per cent accuracy," said Smit.

Dirk van der Merwe of Windhoek Consulting Engineers said the model was built using the results of the sediment study, the preliminary design of the breakwater and deep-sea wave data that was purchased.

"It is only at this point that the environmental impact (EIA) study can be started as it needs to incorporate the specific design of the harbour," said Van der Merwe.

Two companies are on the shortlist for the EIA and will be appointed within the next week or two.

"We do not foresee any problems with the EIA, as the CSIR has done similar studies before. We still wanted an independent study to be conducted to test the model."

According to Smit, there are two options to address the transport of sediment into the harbour and prevent it from silting up completely.

"The option of buying a boat that is specifically designed to dredge the harbour, as opposed to installing a permanent pump, is the cheaper one. The boat costs between N$850 000 and N$1,2 million."

Smit said NamPort has a similar boat for the Walvis Bay harbour.

"We would first approach NamPort to find out if we could possibly fit into their dredging programme before making a final decision."

The building of the harbour would take a maximum of nine months, Smit said, after which the commercial phase of the development would start.

He said the owners of the Fuerstenhof Hotel in Windhoek were still interested in the five-star hotel planned for this phase.

The total cost of the development is close to N$400 million.

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