Schlettwein offers green schemes in Dubai

He said this while speaking at the Namibia Investment Summit, where the government was attempting to solicit foreign direct investments for the country.Schlettwein said investment opportunities abound in both green-scheme and brown-scheme projects for which land is already secured. The government has developed a total of 11 green-scheme projects which it now intends to rent out to the private sector. These schemes used to be under the wings of the Agricultural Business Development Agency, but the government resolved to liquidate the agency – returning the green schemes to the state.In Dubai, Schlettwein flaunted the schemes, which cover approximately 9 000 hectares.Since 2004, the government has adopted a green-scheme policy, and has made substantial investments in such projects since. In the hands of the state alone, the schemes did not deliver credible returns, and now the state wants to engage operators and investors in competitive expression of interest and/or public-private partnerships (PPPs) on various green schemes as a means to boost the agricultural output of staple-food and high-value crops, grow the economy and create jobs, said the minister.“To better leverage private capital and ensure sustained production and productivity of the green schemes, the government has now taken a principle decision to lease out the 11 green schemes through competitive outsourcing as a first option, and through PPPs as may be appropriate,” said Schlettwein.The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, intends to issue the request for proposals by June to the market for competitive bidding by July. The schemes will reportedly be leased as is.Schlettwein also sold the Neckartal Dam to the world, saying an envisaged Neckartal irrigation project would utilise the Neckartal Dam, which holds 830 million cubic metres of water.The dam was built as an irrigation dam and was commissioned by the government in 2020.It is not clear whether Schlettwein got any investment leads from his presentation in Dubai.Email: lazarus@namibian.com.naTwitter: @Lasarus_A