Plans to relocate the Katima Mulilo weighbridge to alleviate truck congestion in the main areas of the town and to enable 24-hour operations suffered a major setback earlier this week.
Minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi does not approve of the newly proposed site.
The proposed site is located in the Liselo area, approximately 11 kilometres from the main town centre, and falls under the jurisdiction of the Mafwe traditional authority.
A visibly shaken Nekundi disapproved of the site during a visit after observing that it had been flooded.
He explained that the area was a low-lying basin and establishing infrastructure of such magnitude there would be costly.
“From an engineering perspective it’s a no for me.
“You must check and identify another suitable area instead of in the flood plains, otherwise it will be very costly for us,” he said.
Nekundi instructed the Roads Authority regional manager, Lynnette Malipa, who was accompanied by the new chief executive Officer, Mbahupu Tjivikua, and other senior managers, to identify an alternative location.
The minister said there were a variety of suitable sites along the B8 main road that engineers could assess for suitability and alignment with road infrastructure designs.
He stressed that establishment of the one-stop border post, the bypass, and weighbridge were key priorities that the Namibian president wanted delivered by her cabinet.
Tjivikua promised to thoroughly engage his technical teams and the board.
This applies particularly to the moratorium regarding the existing weighbridge, which has not been operating simultaneously on a 24-hour basis with the Wenela border post.
– Nampa
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