The African Development Bank, in its latest project update report concerning the Namibia Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project, highlighted significant progress despite certain challenges.
The completion of rail upgrading works has been a key milestone, with road upgrading works progressing well but facing delays. It is expected that all works will be completed by June 2025, with outstanding tasks wrapped up by the project closing date of 31 December 2025.
Outstanding procurements, including auxiliary works (Lot 7), technical audits, and financial audits, require expediting. The delay in road works is attributed to cash flow issues with the main contractor, which may impact the implementation of some auxiliary road works contracts. An action plan submitted by the contractor is being monitored continuously to address these challenges.
The report notes that the 210 km rail upgrade between Walvis Bay and Kranzberg has been completed. However, train speeds on this section are currently restricted to 80 km/h due to the type of train bogies in use. Once self-steering bogies are introduced, speeds can increase to 100 km/h. Trains using Spoor Baber bogies with “fixed wheels” will remain restricted to 80 km/h.
The rail transport market share has dropped to approximately 12% annually, constrained by a lack of sufficient rolling stock. Although there is demand from potential clients, the available capacity of 15 operable trains per day falls short of the required 32 trains. Maintenance and traction power challenges exacerbate the issue.
However, improvements are expected as financing for additional locomotives has been secured. Once these are operational, rail capacity and market share are likely to increase.
Phase 2 of the practical training programme for rail and road infrastructure maintenance has so far trained 101 participants, with 62% being female. This effort highlights the project’s commitment to empowering skilled youth and women. Training for road interventions is ongoing.
Despite the challenges, the Namibia Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project is showing great progress in modernising the country’s rail and road networks.
