Development of new extension at Mariental

• LORATO KHOBETSIACCESS to affordable housing is one of the challenges facing many people in the country, and the residents of Mariental are no exception. To address the current housing backlog faced by its residents, the Mariental municipality partnered with Dynamo Property Developers to develop a new extension at the town.

The development of the new Mariental extension 6 is a public-private partnership between the two institutions to service over 240 erven, where 209 residential houses will be constructed for ultra-low, low and middle-income groups.

Mayor of Mariental,Willem Mensah said the planning and development of this extension is part of the Mariental municipality’s 30-year structure plan, and that the township board recently approved 8 new residential extensions.

“The selling of land to Dynamo Property Developers is part of our commitment to ensure that the housing backlog that we are experiencing at Mariental is addressed,” he noted.

The developers will construct two and three-bedroom houses with different finishes, with prices starting from N$490 000.

Abisai Nambahu from Dynamo Property Developers explained that the construction of the bulk services at the new extension will start in April next year and take about eight months to complete, after which the construction of the houses will commence.

“Currently, we are busy with the design and documentation phase, that is the design of the bulk municipal services, as well as the houses. So, the first quarter of next year will be the procurement process, at which stage we will appoint our respective contractors,” he added.

During his keynote address at the ground-breaking and official handover of the 30-hectare piece of land to the developers, the deputy minister of urban and rural development, Derek Klazen, said housing has gained prominence as one of the key national development priorities, as well as an important vehicle for addressing poverty and inequality.

“We are here at Mariental today to witness the ground-breaking for the servicing of residential plots which were sold by the Mariental municipality to be serviced with roads, pavements bulk sewers and water and electricity reticulation by Dynamo Property Developers at a cost of N$58 million with the developer’s own funds. This is a true partnership and demonstration of Harambee in action,” he stated.

The governor of the Hardap region, Esme Isaack, thanked the municipality and its partner for ending the year of rededication on a high note.

“Therefore, I express my sincere gratitude to the Mariental local authority and the developers for this noble intervention to support the government’s tireless efforts,” she said.