THE Windhoek municipality last week accepted a N$10 million grant from a German-based development bank to fund the upgrading of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
The non-repayable grant secured from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) will fund upgrades at the Gammams wastewater treatment plant near Goreangab Dam.
The Gammams wastewater treatment plant, constructed in 1961, is the main treatment facility for wastewater generated in the Windhoek basin.
The plant’s main purpose is to convert wastewater into potable water.
Documents submitted to the Windhoek municipality’s council meeting last week show that the money will support the provision of additional human resource capacity in the form of expert assistance to the project implementation unit.
The Gammams wastewater treatment plant was designed to hold 28 000 cubic metres per day.
According to the documents, the Gammams plant’s current capacity is under tremendous strain with an influent flow rate ranging from 32 000 cubic metres to 38 000 cubic metres of water per day.
This justifies the need for an upgrade to accommodate peaks of about 50 000 cubic metres per day and future developments within its catchment area, the document states.
According to the document, the Windhoek municipality will require experts to design and implement the work needed for the expansion of the Gammams wastewater treatment plant because of the limited expertise on the African continent in this field.
“To ensure that these expert services are available to the City of Windhoek for the duration of the project, the financiers proposed supporting the municipality’s Project Implementation Unit through grant financing to procure these services and complement the existing expertise. It should be noted that the grant from KfW Bank is a non-repayable grant funding of about N$10,9 million for expert services within a framework of the project securing Windhoek’s water supply,” the document states.
Apart from the grant, the municipality also accepted a donation of 30 mobile trading stalls from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The mobile trading units are valued at about N$420 000.
The mobile trading stalls will address the growing demand for trading premises by small businesses and entrepreneurs in informal settlements.
“GIZ offered council a donation of 30 mobile trading units for allocation to traders operating at Erf 153 Otjomuise. Erven 153 and 154 are so far the only approved trading sites at Otjomuise and the adjacent areas where traders are allowed to sell a variety of products,” the document states.
The additional trading stalls will improve the general hygiene of the sites and “ensure informal trading activities are accommodated in a manageable and controlled manner”.
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