NKURENKURU – The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) handed over the site to a contractor in Nkurenkuru, Kavango West region, on Friday for the servicing of 1 172 erven.
The contractor, S. Shikongo Construction, will undertake the construction of municipal services, including water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure, for an amount of N$14.2 million.
“We are pleased to announce that the contractor is now ready to begin with actual dust or work. The duration of the servicing project is set at eight months,’’ said NHE’s acting executive for infrastructure development, Indileni Set-Sam Iipinge.
Iipinge further said that while the construction of services is ongoing, the first phase of 50 houses is also scheduled to start around April 2026.
Iipinge explained that this approach will help prevent issues such as vandalism, especially of electrical cables, and will reduce security risks.
He shared that the design phase and servicing phase for 172 erven in Nkurenkuru’s Extension 3 have been completed, and the procurement process to appoint the contractor was concluded on 16 July.
“It is important to note that the land initially made available by the Nkurenkuru Town Council comprised 100 erven. In line with NHE’s strategic goal to maximise land use and house more families. We decided to subdivide and densify the area. As a result, we created 72 additional erven, bringing the total to 172,’’ Iipinge said.
The project, therefore, includes the realignment and construction of municipal services to accommodate the increased number of erven.
“This work is essential to ensure that the electrical, water, and sewer systems are properly adjusted or upgraded to meet the new layout and the higher demand for services in Extension 3. In simple terms, where there were 100 erf connections, we will now have 172. Similarly, where there was one manhole, we will now install an additional manhole to cater for the increased number of households,’’ he noted.
He also stated that in addition to the current project, NHE is also at an advanced stage of acquiring 83 fully serviced single residential erven in Nkurenkuru Extension 6.
“Together, these two projects will enable us to deliver a total of 255 housing units for low-income families in Nkurenkuru of Kavango West over the next 20 months. These developments are not only about housing, but they are also about economic empowerment. We expect the combined activities to create more than 300 jobs, offering opportunities for local contractors, artisans, and building materials suppliers,” he explained.
According to Iipinge, all houses will be constructed using NHE’s newly innovative and modern housing designs, which were officially launched last month.
Angelius Liveve, the chairperson of the Nkurenkuru Town Council, at the event, said the project is what the town has been waiting for.
“This is a long awaited project, since 2020, I remember the very first day when we awarded and approved the land to NHE, this Extension 3 is what we consider as prime land in our town, in our engagement with NHE we took the initial step till we met them in Windhoek, we negotiated till we arrived here at this area today whereby 172 which they agreed to construct here in Nkurenkuru,” Liveve said.
“We are spreading this information to everyone from anywhere in Namibia that the platform is open for them to acquire quality and affordable houses in our town, particularly the young professionals, so that they can move out of their parents’ houses, so that they can own their own houses,” he emphasised.
Liveve said the initiative will benefit locals by creating short-term employment opportunities for the locals.
“We don’t want to see a situation where even the person who can turn on the mixer should come from far rather than from Nkurenkuru, the locals from Nkurenkuru and surroundings should benefit from this project,’’ he said.