John Muyamba
Nkurenkuru-Nkurenkuru in northern Namibia has its doors open for vibrant business and economic investment opportunities that still need to be explored. As the only town in Kavango West Region it needs an assortment of services for its 15,000 inhabitants.
It is the residential, business and administrative centre of Kavango West with a daily influx of people.
According to an official document given to this reporter by the Kavango West Regional Council, the region’s economic opportunities include retail industries such as for clothing and food, as well as the establishment of private hospitals and clinics, the construction of warehouses and business complexes, wood processing plants and a charcoal industry. Opportunities can still be explored in tourism such as the establishment of hotels, lodges and conference facilities, and in the development and establishment of agro-industry and processing plants. The availability of land also offers an opportunity for commercial property development and housing that is in demand in the town.
The document shows Nkurenkuru needs private schools and tertiary institutions plus information, training and communication centres along with vocational training centres, as well as the establishment of factories and other industries.
The young emerging town is situated approximately 135 km west of Rundu and is strategically located along the Kavango River, linking Kavango West with Kavango East, Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions and via Katwitwi border post leads to the densely populated area of Cuando Cubango Province in Angola.
Being the capital and only town in the region, it has the potential to develop faster than expected.
Several government offices and ministries, private businesses and institutions have opened up in the town and more are expected to open their doors in future.
Nkurenkuru Town Council portrays itself as a business-friendly council that encourages investors from local, national and international sectors.
Some of the services that can be found in Nkurenkuru are government ministries/offices, the Namibian Police Force, Nkurenkuru Lutheran Hospital, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank, NaTIS, NamPost, Nored, NHE and a few guesthouses.
MTC recently opened a mobile home and the town also has a fish shop, some supermarkets, one furniture shop, Chinese hardware shops, two fuel stations, clothing shops, a pharmacy, a private doctor’s consulting room, an International University of Management (IUM) campus and Welwitschia Nursing University.
Work to construct Nkurenkuru Vocational Training Centre has just recently kicked off, which is expected to be completed by the year 2020.
The government declared Nkurenkuru as a settlement area in 1999 before proclaiming it a town in 2006. It became the capital of Kavango West Region when the authorities split the former Kavango Region into Kavango West and Kavango East regions in 2013.