Govt teases Dubai with N$200b carrot

Govt teases Dubai with N$200b carrotAirports, container terminal and Neckartal Dam among flagged low-hanging fruits N$200 billion worth of investments have been dangled in the face Emirati investors by a delegation led by deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. MATHIAS HAUFIKU







WINDHOEK

Namibia is seeking to attract over N$200 billion worth of investments from the United Arab Emirates, having recently sent a delegation there to court that country’s business community to invest in several Namibian projects.

A delegation comprising of senior government officials - led by deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah - that snuck out of the country from 6 to 10 March to market seven projects to Emirati investors, has set astronomical targets.

The projects on offer for possible partnership include the new international terminal at the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA), a deep-water port at Angra Point at Lüderitz, Walvis Bay’s new container terminal, Neckartal Dam’s green scheme irrigation farm, the Erongo desalination plant, a concentrated solar power plant with thermal energy storage and the Southern Corridor Development Initiative.

In a document dated 6 March titled ‘Namibia Investment Opportunities’, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia will need a competitive airline, a world-class airport and a functioning logistics hub to facilitate the requisite trade and economic activity necessary to unlock opportunities.

She told investors that Namibia needs to collaborate with development partners that share similar aspirations to meet the set objectives.

“Our respective governments have signed various agreements in the areas of economic, scientific, social, cultural and technical cooperation and specifically on collaboration on air services between and beyond our respective territories.”

Meanwhile, the country’s chief planner Obeth Kandjoze said efficient air, road transport and improved customs procedures between landlocked and developing countries can transform their trade potential and overall sustainable development.

Kandjoze, the director general of the National Planning Commission, said recent industry developments have placed Namibia’s logistics and economic aspirations well on track to being realised.

A short description of the projects:

Airport terminal

A feasibility study conducted in 2019 indicated that two phases of development are foreseen at HKIA. With terminal two works nearing completion, government expects HKIA to accommodate incremental traffic growth until 2030.

Terminal three expansion, which will cost around N$5 billion, will comprise of a new terminal and additional apron and taxiway works in order to accommodate incremental traffic growth in the future.

Government said it needs an operator to operate the new airport as a public-private partnership, since funding has already been secured for the construction of the third terminal and potential contractors have been shortlisted for the expansion.

Lüderitz port

The port of Lüderitz is constrained by shallow water depth, which limits vessel sizes that can safely enter the port.

The new port is expected to have a 16m water depth, deep enough to accommodate vessels large enough to export commodities such as manganese with the required financial viability.

Container terminal

The new container terminal has a capacity of at least 750 000 TEUs per annum.

Government said since the introduction of the terminal, the container-handling capacity has increased by threefold while the container volume throughput dropped.

This entailed the creation of 40 hectares of new land reclaimed from the bay within Namport’s current port jurisdiction.

The newly reclaimed land was created by dredging or deepening the port and using sand obtained from deepening to form new land. The reclaimed land is linked to the existing port land by a causeway.

Neckartal irrigation

The Neckartal Irrigation Scheme project involves development of the irrigation project and the construction of the Neckartal Farm on a total area of approximately 5 000 hectares, which could be used to produce dates and grapes for export.

The project is expected to involve setting up relevant infrastructure for drawing water from the recently-built dam and allied agriculture infrastructure.

The private developer will have the flexibility to produce and sell the crops produced domestically or export them based on the market demand assessment.

Desalination plant

NamWater would support the private developer in seeking sea water drawl rights, while the private developer would set up seawater pumping main to draw seawater up to the project site, as well as design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the desalination plant and allied infrastructure over a suitable concession period of 20 to 25 years.

Renewable energy

The concentrated solar power plant with thermal energy storage is a viable option to replace fossil fuel fired power stations, Namibia’s national power utility said.

NamPower is expected to invest in the plant to combine operational flexibility with high-capacity value that provides ‘flexible capacity’ requirements to the Namibian power system.

According to government, the plant has the potential for integration into the national grid, together with other generation technologies.

Southern corridor

Some preliminary market estimates note that, at scale, the //Karas Region potentially stands to absorb a foreign direct invesment of US$6 billion, produce two million tonnes of ammonia, generate in excess of $800 million in revenue per annum and house generation assets of 5GW with the capability to produce power at less than three US cents/kWh.