THE Roads Authority (RA) has signed a N$275 million contract with the Roads Contractor Company (RCC) and China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico) for the construction and upgrading of a portion of the road between Tsumeb and Katwitwi.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Windhoek, RA acting chief executive officer Conrad Lutombi, said the RCC and Chico would engage in a joint venture to work on the contract.Lutombi said the N$275 million contract is for phase three of the project to upgrade the road between Tsumeb and Katwitwi. The third phase covers approximately 67,3 km, is fully funded by Government and is expected to be completed within 20 months.Phase one of the project, which covered 70 km of the road, started in 2009 and will soon be completed and handed over to the RA following a final inspection on October 4. The second phase, which covers another 70km of the road between Tsumeb and Katwitwi, is expected to be completed in the next four months.Lutombi that phase three will include bush clearing, construction of pavement layers, drainage works and installation of road furniture.RCC chief executive officer Engelhard Haihambo said there would be no delegation of duties between the RCC and Chico and that all work would be carried out jointly and together.Lutombi said that the project would generate well over 300 jobs for Namibians with special skills. Haihambo said that for jobs requiring lower skills levels, the RCC would make use of locally based labour.Last month the RA also signed an agreement worth N$44 million with Chico for the construction and rehabilitation of two bridges in northern Namibia. The contract relates to the Ongwediva and Okandjengedi bridges which are located on the road between Ondangwa and Oshakati in the Oshana Region.The project is expected to be completed in 16 months and will create about 150 jobs for Namibians living in the area.
