BUSINESSMAN Titus Nakuumba and a Dubai state-owned port company partner have obtained extra land at Walvis Bay to set up a logistics hub project at the coast.
Nakuumba is part of a partnership called !Nara Namib Free Economic Zone, an entity made up of the state-owned Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida), Bigenkuumba Infrastructure Services, and Afrikuumba Development One.
The other partner is DP World, a United Arab Emirates government-owned port operator, based in the commercial hub of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.
This partnership in 2014 received 200 hectares. Last year, it obtained 158 hectares of land in addition to this.
News about this deal comes as president Hage Geingob’s administration is increasingly looking at the Middle East for possible investments.
However, there are concerns that the investment deals with Dubai are increasingly being secretive, with Namibian ministers travelling to the Middle East for investment opportunities this month without informing the public.
Nakuumba has been a frequent visitor to Dubai in the past two tears.
The Namibian reported last year that former executive director of works and transport Willem Goeiemann wanted the government to give a Dubai state-owned company control of the newly constructed N$4,2 billion Walvis Bay container terminal for 30 to 50 years.
Documents seen by The Namibian showed that Goeiemann favoured a company called DP World, previously known as Dubai Ports Authority.
DP World group is chaired by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who also serves as the company’s chief executive officer. Bin Sulayem is considered as one of Dubai’s leading businessmen.
The Goeiemann port transaction did not go ahead, but Nakuumba’s Dubai partnership regrouped and bought land for its logistics hub.
The municipality’s suspended housing and properties manager, Jack Manale, confirmed the allocations in an interview with The Namibian last year.
Manale at the time said the land is for future activities of the project.
“Yes, we have reserved land for the project, and it is for the expansion of the project. Once the development on the 200 hectares begins, and they come back to us saying they need more land, then we give the reserved land for additional activities of the project,” he said.
Manale added: “It is until then that we are able to give them a price. At the moment, the price, valuations and conditions of the land are not determined yet. It will come at a later stage.”
The suspended manager is one of four officials at the municipality whose laptops and mobile phones were confiscated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in December last year.
This was linked to the missing N$24 million of the mass urban servicing project at the coastal town. Investigations into this are ongoing.
Nakuumba confirmed this allocation to The Namibian recently when asked about the status of the project.
“Please note that Nara Namib Freezone has an allocation from the Walvis Bay municipality of 158 hectares after successfully applying for land directly from the municipality,” he said.
The land will be used to construct an industrial park behind Dune 7 on the outskirts of Walvis Bay.
The 158 hectares secured are in addition to the 200 hectares of state land the partnership received through an agreement with the Namibia Development Corporation in April 2014.
DP World plans to contribute its expertise in establishing and operating global ports, logistics parks and free zones integrated with railways and trucking.
According to the company’s external relations officer, Amel Bensekkouma, Nida has paid N$4 million for the 200 hectares.
“The process of the purchase price with the municipality [for the 158 hectares] is not finalised. As for the Nida portion of 200 hectares, N$4 million was spent by the parastatal, which is being refunded,” Bensekkouma said.
Nakuumba is known for entering into controversial deals with the state, including the City of Windhoek, TransNamib and the National Housing Enterprise.
An environmental clearance certificate is required before a company undertakes a project that has the potential to pollute and damage the environment, which can range from mining to infrastructural activities.
Minister of industrialisation and trade Lucia Iipumbu recently said the ministry is in the process of completing several policies.
“The latest updates from Nida are in the offing as there were some governance changes recently. The project, as far as the ministry is aware, is busy completing several governance and financial closure issues,” Iipumbu said.
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