OKURYANGAVA residents in Windhoek will soon have new neighbours with the contstruction of about 4 500 low-cost houses set to begin from August this year.
The new township to be constructed will be managed by Ongos Valley Development – a company with a dream of building 30 000 low-cost houses in a period of between 15 and 20 years.
The 30 000 houses will be spread over an area of about 1 000 football fields (1 700 ha), west of the Nubuamis area in Katutura.
Nedbank Namibia, as lead financier, will bond with South Africa’s Absa Bank, the Development Bank of Namibia, Standard Bank Namibia and the Development Corporation of Botswana in the financing of the project.
The housing project was launched last September in Windhoek, and attracted politicians, including former education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, deputy finance minister Natangwe Ithete and deputy industrialisation minister Lucia Iipumbu, as well as Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua.
At a meeting held at State House on Tuesday, Ongos Valley Development director Americo de Almeida told president Hage Geingob that the project will see Ongos invest about N$4 billion in the project, and create about 4 000 direct jobs and 9 000 indirect jobs in the process.
The groundbreaking ceremony, to be officially announced, is expected to take place at the end of July, De Almeida told the head of state.
He said the houses are expected to cost between N$300 000 and N$800 000, and very few just above N$800 000.
The president hailed the development, and asked private companies and banks to meet the government halfway in providing basic neccessities such as housing, not only in Windhoek, but in other areas as well.
“It is a good start, especially with the banks being together in addressing the question of squatting,” Geingob stated.
The president was quoted earlier this year as saying shacks around the city annoy him, and he wants them gone in five years.
Nedbank Namibia’s executive for corporate investment banking and treasury, Karl-Stefan Altmann, said the first phase of the construction will cost about N$1 billion for about 4 500 houses that will be built over five years, just N$250 million slightly above the cost of the Swapo party headquarters’ building.
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