Chairperson of the Namibian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy and Industry, Public Administration and Planning, Iipumbu Shiimi, has said the Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT) and TransNamib Limited, as well as the National Planning Commission (NPC), must fast track the finalisation and implementation of the Railway Master Plan.
The ministry, the commission, the Ministry of Finance and TransNamib Limited must ensure that the project activities for the Kranzberg to Otjiwarongo railway upgrading are implemented as planned, as well as all other projects earmarked for railway services, the parliamentary report said.
Further, the works and transport should collaborate with the planning commission, Ministry of Finance and TransNamib Limited to restore and modernise the aging rail infrastructure in the country, which is essential for economic growth and for Namibia to be a transport hub.
The Windhoek-Gobabis and southern railway routes should be reactivated and upgraded. The Trans-Zambezi rail extension project should also commence without delay.
The transport ministry, the finance ministry and the planning commission must review the current regulatory framework for the railway sector to bring it to the same levels as the one in the road sector.
The government agencies must improve the funding of the railway set out in the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) and reconsider the imbalance between the funding of the rail versus the funding of road infrastructure.
The report said the government, through the Ministry of Works and Transport, NPC, Ministry of Finance, Roads Authority, Road Fund Administration and TransNamib, should encourage the complementing of road and railway and address funding as well as legislative challenges as a matter of urgency.
In terms of the ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, the government, through the government ministries and NamPort, must continue to support the expansion of port infrastructure to support Namibia’s ambitions to be the regional transport hub.
The report said the Namibia Revenue Agency must continue coordinating the establishment of the One-Stop Border Post at Katima Mulilo to ease congestion at this border post.
In the fifth National Development Plan, the country managed to upgrade 24% of the railway network in an effort to comply with the SADC axle load recommendation.
The port of Walvis Bay was expanded through the new container terminal to handle a minimum of one million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per annum by 2021, compared to the previous capacity handling of 350,000 TEUs in 2016.
Namibia aims to into a regional logistics hub by improving infrastructure, promoting market access and ensuring efficient border management.
This strategy will improve existing routes and develop new ones to facilitate the movement of goods; develop the Port of Walvis Bay to handle increased cargo traffic and to cater to the needs of SADC countries.
The government plans to construct, upgrade and maintain railway infrastructure for a safe and efficient national railway network to support socio-economic development.
Written by Chamwe Kaira for Railways Africa.
