A pre-requisite for accelerated economic activity is an adequate infrastructure, say the Namibian Government planners.
By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
The National Development Plan 3 (NDP 3) envisages the country to have and maintain a highly developed and reliable infrastructure.
The country’s transport system consists of roads, railway, air transport and maritime. This is central in the development of other sub-sectors of the economy. This importance has propelled the transport sector to prominence over the years with substantial investments that have gone into the development of the systems.
The overall objectives under NDP 3 are to increase ordinary citizens’ access to electricity, water and housing; to expand the provision of electricity in rural and urban areas; to increase access to telecommunications; to approve laws enabling Government to subsidise water to the needy; and to provide rural and urban areas with a reliable and highly developed transport system.
Transport
* Roads
A substantial achievement during the previous development phase – NDP 2 – was the development of transport corridors in the form of the Trans-Caprivi and Trans-Kalahari Highways. The target was to construct 400 kilometres of which 65 percent was achieved.
The construction of new roads into previously neglected areas has also been engaged in. Under NDP 2, a target was set to complete 240 kilometres of tarred roads. This target was exceeded by 121 percent. The development phase further targets to rehabilitate 1ǟ