Maria David
THE Omusati region continues to prioritize water infrastructure, a fact that is evident in the region’s huge investments in this sector.
According to the regional governor Erginus Endjala, an amount of N$1,3 million was invested in drilling of boreholes at Onamatanga and at Okaonde and the upgrading of Olwaadhiya traditional well during the financial year 2021/22.
He said the drilling of Onamatanga and Okaonde boreholes was completed at cost of N$298 019.05 and N$305 678.99 respectively, while an amount of N$71 730 was spent on clearing a 14 km cutline for the water pipeline to community and public institutions in the Onamatanga of Ruacana Constituency.
“On a large scale, Namwater has invested an amount of N$259 500,000 in the following projects: a new pump station upgrade at Okahao to increase water supply capacity and construction of Okahao reservoir relining to replace floating cover and wall liners to prolong lifetime of existing reservoir by another 15 years,” he said, adding that the projects are expected to be completed during the 2024/2025 Ffinancial year.
Meanwhile, the upgrading of the Ogongo purification plant is expected to be done during the 2023/2024 financial year.
“To ensure water supply security, the rehabilitation of the Calueque-Epalela water canal has commenced and is ongoing,” he said.
He added that the Research Phase 1 for supplying of raw water to farmers around Olushandja Dam Project is expected to be completed during the 2027/2028 financial year.
He also said that the upgrading of the Olushandja Treatment Plant and extension of existing two plants or replacement of existing plants with new plant, to increase clean water storage capacity, will be completed during the 2025/2026 financial year, while the construction of a 5000 m³ reservoir at Outapi is already completed.
Further, Namwater has budgeted an amount of N$25 million to complete construction of a 10 000 m³ reservoir at Tsandi. The project is expected to be completed during the 2026/2027 financial year.
Governor Endjala enumerated many other water infrastructure development projects that were already completed, are underway or are planned for the near future.
