WALVIS BAY – The Walvis Bay municipality is implementing a low-cost housing initiative, through which 20 low-cost houses will be build, as part of the council’s efforts to address the housing shortage at the town.
Eleven contractors, who specialize in the construction of low-cost houses, were allocated 20 plots earlier this year to start the project. Some of the houses are already taking shape and have become an attraction to many residents. According to the mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, the houses are being constructed with alternative building materials, using alternative methods, and will cater for low-income groups. “The units will be evaluated afterwards and subsequently rolled out for mass construction,” she explained. According to one of the contractors, Charl Williams of Erongo Bricks, they are using ecological bricks to build the houses.
Erongo Bricks says it can build a two-bedroom house with ecological bricks at a cost of not more than N$75 000 per housing unit. However, the price excludes the plot. Williams recently acquired exclusive rights from a Brazilian company that builds houses with the ecological bricks and has already completed several houses in Walvis Bay.
“The process is less time-consuming than conventional methods and the bricks are made of clay, sand and cement. This method is affordable, reliable and the construction process of houses built with these ecological bricks does not require skilled workers. You also do not need exorbitant quantities of cement in the building process. Steel rods and concrete are used to strengthen the corners of the structures,” he said. Earlier this year the municipality indicated that the Tutaleni Housing Project, that was established more than a decade ago to provide low-income home seekers with a temporary housing solution, has not yielded the desired results.
This resulted in the municipality exploring other alternatives. In March this year the council also indicated that an area south of Walvis Bay’s Airport Road, on the eastern side of the town, has been identified as a suitable area for low-income housing. According to the 2011 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey the population of Walvis Bay stood at about 62 000 people. However, the municipality estimates the number has increased and is now between 75 000 and 80 000. Currently it is estimated that around 27 000 people live in shacks at the town.
By Eveline de Klerk