Govt asked to cough up N$70m for NUST campus

The Lüderitz Waterfront Development Company (LWDC) wants government to fork out an additional N$70 million for the completion of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) satellite campus being built in Lüderitz, a project that has already cost taxpayers N$145 million.Construction on the project started in 2013, and almost a decade later, students are yet to sit in its lecture halls.These details are contained in a June funding concept note by LWDC, seen by Namibian Sun, which provides a summary of the project status and the remaining works that need to be completed to meet the March 2023 deadline.Campus facilities will cater for a focus on hospitality, tourism and mining as well as distance programmes from the faculties of management sciences, computing and informatics, human sciences, engineering, health and applied sciences, natural resources and spatial sciences.Out of the required N$70 million, the report indicated N$7.8 million will go towards settling professional fees.The largest chunk - N$23.4 million - will be used to cater for the remaining phases of the first floor and upper ground level of the facility.The upgrading and renovation of the Lüderitz Old Power Station, where the campus will be located, commenced with internal demolition works and subsequent building works in June 2013.Once complete, the complex will have facilities for offices and shops that will be leased out to public and private companies, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises.Hide-and-seekThe report comes at a time when the university and LWDC are at loggerheads over the project.Namibian Sun recently reported that NUST and the development company do not see eye to eye because NUST claims it is in the dark about operations.The institution has since reached out to the public enterprises ministry to intervene and compel the development firm to open its books.With the new campus being constructed on land owned by LWDC, NUST is accusing its landlord of playing hide-and-seek around the progress of the project as well as the costs thereof.It is understood that NUST also wants the land to be transferred into its name, a move that has not been received well by the development firm.The university further wants to be furnished with an extensive project cost report prepared by the quantity surveyor, indicating the area schedules and participation quota based on the project funding allocation.LucrativeThe campus is being constructed on one of the most lucrative pieces of land at the harbour town. LWDC bought the lucrative 1.4-hectare land - situated along the beach - from government in 2011 for N$1.3 million.NUST, in a cache of documents obtained by Namibian Sun, said it has repeatedly failed to obtain documents and information pertaining to the ownership and building tenure from the waterfront corporation, subsequently failing to bring the development of its Lüderitz campus to fruition.“The current impasse has placed the university in the position that it might have invested in a property owned by a private company or individuals,” a letter dated 17 August 2021 read.

Govt asked to cough up N$70m for NUST campus

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Govt asked to cough up N$70m for NUST campus

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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