By Chrispin Inambao
KATIMA MULILO
The riverfront at Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Region will undergo radical transformation when actual construction of the multi-phased N$128 million Government project – the Zambezi Waterfront Front Tourism Park – starts to take shape this month.
Mooted in 1995, the waterfront – the largest project for that region – has received its fair share of criticism that would be proved wanting when actual construction starts soon.
Geoffrey Mugwala Simasiku, the administrator of the innovative northeastern tourism project revealed this development in a recent interview with New Era at Katima Mulilo.
Actual construction will start anytime this month after Namib Betoni finished compacting the proposed site to ensure any potential floods are fully contained, he said.
Once construction gets into full swing, the waterfront will be completed by December next year. The project will then enter the operational phase in January 2010, in time for the historic FIFA World Cup – the football extravaganza planned for South Africa that year.
Consulting Services Africa is the civil and structural engineer for the project while L Architects is the quantity surveyor and Bona Consultants/EDC is the project manager.
Once the project becomes fully operational, it will comprise of a three-star hotel/motel, an amphitheatre, inter-conference facility, aquarium, a floating restaurant, art and craft centre, a plaza, curio shops, caf??????’??