THE Windhoek municipality last month approved a proposal to set up a refinery plant which would produce bitumen – a substance used for road surfacing.
Council documents seen by show that the municipality has agreed to sell three erven situated in Windhoek’s northern industrial area to a company called Project Seven Trading CC that wants to build a bitumen refinery plant at a cost of N$9 million.
The specific plots are Erf 8754, 8755 and 8756, Cullinan Street, next to the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation headquarters.
This approval comes nine years after the company initially applied for the land in 2012.
The company initially applied to be allocated land measuring about 10 000 square metres for the proposed plant.
According to documents submitted to the municipality in 2012 and 2014, the company wants to import and process “raw products obtained from Angola” and then distribute the bitumen products within Namibia.
“Currently this product is imported from South Africa and distributed to roads upgraded to bitumen standards. We are supplying to the Roads Contractor Company (RCC) and NRP (Namibia Road Production) for the tenders awarded to them by the Ministry of Works and Transport via the Roads Authority,” the company stated in its application documents.
According to estimates made in 2012, the proposed plant will have a production capacity of 20 tonnes per hour. The company plans to make a total investment of N$33 million into the proposed project. It also plans to create 26 permanent jobs and 50 temporary posts.
Project Seven Trading CC is a Namibian registered company, owned by Elia Tapalo with 50% shareholding and Thomas Ickua with another 50%.
The project was initially supported by the municipality under its Special Projects Policy, and the company was given provisional municipality approval in 2014.
This, according to documents, was because the company’s application was in compliance with the municipality’s main policy objectives.
This included proactively promoting new/unique developments and investments; to ensure efficient and integrated development; encourage job creation and skills development, and to encourage the socio-economic spin-offs on all sectors of the economy.
According to documents, there were, however, concerns regarding the type of industrial use at that specific location.
“Although zoned industrial, most activities in this immediate vicinity/area is more light industrial and restricted business in nature – this intended use is a bit closer to heavy industrial or noxious industrial,” council documents state.
The company was directed to ensure the project is located outside the ground water protected areas.
According to documents, the company has to- date spent more than N$1,9 million on project consultations in compliance with council’s requirements.
The company will, however, be required to pay about N$351 430 in annual non-refundable reservation fees for 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The company has reportedly secured the financial backing of the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade.
“The company has further applied to the ministry for the infant industry protection, and the ministry further undertook to recommend IIP status for the project once the applicant commences production and meets all the requirements given,” council documents state.
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