Maihapa Ndjavera
The much-hyped Ongos Valley housing project on the outskirts of Windhoek is targeting civil servants, police officers, nurses and young professionals.
The project’s director Americo de Almeida said the 20-year mixed use development with a value of N$25 billion, once completed, will boast 28 000 medium cost housing units, with other services such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls and businesses. “Ongos Valley will be completely geared up towards promoting recycling, using greywater effectively, and utilising solar energy in order to become a green city, the first ever in history,” said De Almeida while briefing President Hage Geingob and senior government officials, who visited the 1 743-hectare construction site yesterday.
Currently, over 2 000 workers are employed on site. Ongos is located in the north-western corridor just 14 kilometres from Windhoek’s Central Business District, west of Nubuamis. De Almeida said the development will unlock and boost the local economy with N$4.3 billion investment, and will be creating over 14 000 employment opportunities during the first phase which is currently underway.
Furthermore, he said another critical element of the project is the relocation and settlement of approximately 304 residents occupying the road reserve. “Initial communication from the city highlighted that the initiative should not take longer than two months. We are approximately eight months down into the programme and only 216 residents have been relocated. Covid-19, among other things, was the main contributor that affected the programme,” he said.
According to De Almeida, the majority of affected residents are located on critical paths. He said the delayed relocation of these residents has directly resulted in the delay of bulk services installation.
He added basic municipal infrastructure for water and sewer are complete, and planning for electricity is underway. In order to accommodate those financially discriminated against to acquire loans from banks to own the houses, Ongos Valley came up with strategies such as rent-to-own.
At the same occasion, Khomas governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua commended the project, saying it will augur well for the development of the city and its people. According to the governor, the Ongos Valley’s dream of growing the city is in the right direction and deserves support from all stakeholders.
“The first phase constitutes 4 500 housing units that already have buyers that have financial support from banks,” she said.
-mndjavera@nepc.com.na