Von Bach resort opened, lifestyle village planned

THE now privately run Von Bach Dam resort was officially opened on Friday by former President Sam Nujoma with the news that a variety of luxury houses will soon be for sale at the planned Oujere Lifestyle Village, to be located opposite the resort.

At the same time, Tungeni Africa Investment, the holders of the public-private partnership (PPP) awarded to them in 2008 by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), announced their new shareholder agreement with Paragon Investment Holdings.Lazarus Jacobs, co-director and shareholder of Paragon with Desmond Amunyela, said at the opening of the resort on Friday that Paragon Investments is going to take up equity in the Tungeni Africa project at Von Bach. Iyaloo ya Nangolo, managing director of the Namibian-owned black economic empowerment company Tungeni Africa Investment, confirmed the new partnership.He said Paragon would assist Tungeni to ‘take this PPP project further’. Ya Nangolo spoke at the official opening of the Von Bach resort, which now boasts 22 bungalows and has attracted more than 3 000 guests since its opening in December 2010, according to Tungeni. The company announced that more bungalows will be built and in the coming weeks Tungeni will begin marketing the lifestyle village, which will offer 50-year leases to investors. When the PPP agreement with NWR was made public in early 2008, Tungeni announced that they would invest N$456 million to improve and upgrade the four resorts they were awarded by NWR, in a drive by Government to transform the loss-making NWR facilities into profitable enterprises. Tungeni now holds leases on Mile 72, Mile 108, Jakkalsputz and the Von Bach Dam, all state owned tourism resorts. The PPP deal that gave Tungeni 100-year leasehold rights of the tourism facilities was met by widespread public criticism.The Namibian reported in 2009 that NamWater and government’s Water Affairs officials had warned Tungeni that their lifestyle village development plan was ‘fatally flawed’.It was reported that Tungeni directors and shareholders were warned that NamWater was looking at possible plans to raise the Von Bach dam wall by 10 metres, which meant that luxury homes built along the dam’s edge could ‘end up under several metres of water’. Furthermore, the lifestyle village, which plans to incorporate 77 ‘upscale’ houses, a golf course and other upmarket entertainment facilities, was criticised for its potential risk to pollute Von Bach’s water. Von Bach is the main freshwater reservoir that supplies Windhoek and much of central Namibia with water. Nujoma praised Tungeni Africa for their ‘innovative idea’ of establishing a fully integrated lifestyle village on Friday during his keynote address. He said Tungeni to date.had paid N$8 million to NWR as part of the PPP deal and for investments of N$25 million in the renovation and upgrading works at the resort. Daniel Nghidinuda, newly appointed acting managing director of NWR, said the opening of the resort and the launch of the lifestyle village was ‘clear testimony’ of the successful partnership between NWR and Tungeni Africa Investments. ‘We have no doubt that Tungeni has what it will take to succeed,’ he said, adding that since the start of the partnership, NWR ‘never had any doubt that Tungeni will be able to pull this project off’. A speech by Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, read on her behalf by a ministry official, said the project was also proof that public-private partnerships work if given the necessary support.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.