China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico) has committed to completing the Nkurenkuru-Nepara road project within six months.
Chico group project manager Wang Qiang made the promise while accompanying works and transport minister John Mutorwa on a site visit to the project on Monday.
“This is not the first project we are working on. We constructed the road between Nkurenkuru and Rundu which is 134 kilometres. That was our first project in the Kavango West region. So, we are glad that we are trusted with more work, and we promise to deliver good work,” said Wang.
Chico took over the project after the previous local contractor requested to be released due to alleged poor performance.
Phase one of the project involves upgrading 10 kilometres of gravel road to a low-volume seal at a cost of N$29 million.
Roads Authority regional engineering manager Kennedy Chigumira has asked for cooperation to avoid theft of materials from the site, as this will cause delays in completing the project.
“If a contractor has performed, there is no reason to look for another contractor, you just have to motivate the same contractor and build a good relationship for future reference. That’s what we did, even though it was a short notice bid. Let us educate our people to respect contractors instead of being violent and vandalising things because the company given a tender is not local,” stresses Chigumira.
Mutorwa urged collaboration.
“Each of us has a duty to ensure these roads are completed. Let us work together, address problems, and move forward,” he said.
The road linking Nepara to Nkurenkuru connects the Kavango West and East regions to the Trans-Zambezi Corridor and other northern regions.
