DBN grants more project loans

MORE companies have benefited from the latest loan allocation from the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), bringing the total funds disbursed to local companies by the bank since July 2005 to over N$200 million.

DBN yesterday announced having dished out a total of N$60,4 million between December last year and last month to six projects that sought funding for various activities. A local company, NamClay Bricks, received a N$5,5 million loan to purchase technologically advanced equipment, including kilns, which will boost production.NamClay Bricks, which started operating in the abandoned mine town of Uis last year, currently produces 15 000 bricks a day, which according to company Chairman, Albert Weitz, will surge to 80 000 with the use of the new equipment.The expansion will increase the company’s workforce from 37 to 68.Weitz said the company was still in its first development stage.Phase two, he said, would start soon with the erection of a tile-manufacturing plant at the site.DBN Chief Executive Officer David Nuyoma said: “The town has been bleeding since the tin mine closed more than 15 years ago and it seems as if the project could bring much-needed life to the area.”In a smart partnership deal between parastatals, DBN approved a N$10 million loan for the Road Fund Administration to upgrade the Divundu Bridge across the Kavango River on the Trans-Caprivi Highway.”The current limited carrying capacity of the Okavango River bridge is given as a core infrastructure bottleneck for industrial and mining development in the region,” said Nuyoma.Recently launched Powercom (trading as Cell One) received a N$9 million bridging loan and a N$20 million guarantee for the rollout of the Cell One mobile phone network in the country.These funds are additional to the N$30,5 million extended to the network to facilitate shipment of telecommunications equipment from Europe to Namibia to launch the network.”Powercom will generate substantial economic benefits in terms of its contribution to GDP, generation of Government revenue through payment of various taxes, and increased competition in the telecommunications sector,” Nuyoma said Other companies that benefited were JOM Renovations from the Erongo Region, which builds and renovates residential, commercial and Government buildings, and JSC Seafood Marketing, which buys and sells fish and fish products locally and internationally.Seafresh Investments received a N$4,2 million loan to establish an oyster farm at Walvis Bay, which will create jobs for 73 Namibians.A local company, NamClay Bricks, received a N$5,5 million loan to purchase technologically advanced equipment, including kilns, which will boost production.NamClay Bricks, which started operating in the abandoned mine town of Uis last year, currently produces 15 000 bricks a day, which according to company Chairman, Albert Weitz, will surge to 80 000 with the use of the new equipment.The expansion will increase the company’s workforce from 37 to 68.Weitz said the company was still in its first development stage.Phase two, he said, would start soon with the erection of a tile-manufacturing plant at the site.DBN Chief Executive Officer David Nuyoma said: “The town has been bleeding since the tin mine closed more than 15 years ago and it seems as if the project could bring much-needed life to the area.”In a smart partnership deal between parastatals, DBN approved a N$10 million loan for the Road Fund Administration to upgrade the Divundu Bridge across the Kavango River on the Trans-Caprivi Highway.”The current limited carrying capacity of the Okavango River bridge is given as a core infrastructure bottleneck for industrial and mining development in the region,” said Nuyoma.Recently launched Powercom (trading as Cell One) received a N$9 million bridging loan and a N$20 million guarantee for the rollout of the Cell One mobile phone network in the country.These funds are additional to the N$30,5 million extended to the network to facilitate shipment of telecommunications equipment from Europe to Namibia to launch the network. “Powercom will generate substantial economic benefits in terms of its contribution to GDP, generation of Government revenue through payment of various taxes, and increased competition in the telecommunications sector,” Nuyoma said Other companies that benefited were JOM Renovations from the Erongo Region, which builds and renovates residential, commercial and Government buildings, and JSC Seafood Marketing, which buys and sells fish and fish products locally and internationally.Seafresh Investments received a N$4,2 million loan to establish an oyster farm at Walvis Bay, which will create jobs for 73 Namibians.