Ondangwa-Oshakati railway project in motion

Consulting engineers contracted by the Ministry of Works and Transport to study the most practical route for the envisaged railway line from Ondangwa to Oshakati have already submitted their reports. The reports, compiled after studies were conducted last year, include the design of the railway, the materials that will be used, as well as the budget needed to complete the planned railway line. The budget includes the amount that will be required to compensate families in the Ondangwa and Oshakati-East constituencies who will be affected once the multimillion-dollar project is implemented. Oshana Governor Clemens Kashuupulwa told Namibian Sun that stakeholders’ meetings between headmen and villagers, as well as affected local authorities, were held last year in preparation for the development. “Last year the engineers were on the ground to do the necessary work. People in those areas have already been informed that a railway line will run through their land,” said Kashuupulwa. “The project is still under consideration but it will only be implemented with the availability of funds, hopefully this year’s budget will allow it,” said Kashuupulwa. During his State of the Nation Address last week, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said the focus of the current Medium-Term Expenditure Framework will be on the construction of the railway from Ondangwa to Oshakati and thereby linking the growing towns to the national rail network. The first phase of the northern railway extension project was from Tsumeb in the Oshikoto Region to Ondangwa in the Oshana Region. The second phase of the project extended the railway further to the Angolan border town of Oshikango in the Ohangwena Region.