John Muyamba
RUNDU – An eight kilometre stretch of the Rundu-Divundu road on the Trans-Caprivi highway in Kavango East is currently under light rehabilitation. The Roads Authority (RA) is funding the work, which will eventually cover more kilometres, if funds permit, as the whole stretch from Rundu to Divundu needs a makeover after recent rains.
“The rehabilitation will be completed by the end of September this year. Approximately 200km of this road require light rehabilitation and this will be done in phases subject to funds availability,” said the RA spokesperson Hileni Fillemon.
In other roads updates in Kavango East, Fillemon said the Road Fund Administration (RFA) will now fund all low volume seal (LVS) roads projects of the RA, including Ndonga-Linena, which is currently a gravel road, stretches 157km from Ndonga-Linena via Ncaute gravel and connect to Sikanduko in Rundu.
LVS are roads that are made with a quality tarred or bitumen, which accommodates a low volume of vehicles, an average daily traffic of less than 400 vehicles. “This road has been earmarked for an upgrade to LVS standards. Funding has been a challenge over the past years. However, RFA will now fund all our LVS projects,” she said.
In the next two months, a gravel road linking farms in Kavango East as well as part of Kavango West, south of Ncaute village up to Kanovlei or Karukuvisa near Tsumkwe, will be under construction to ease the hardships that farmers go through while travelling through difficult paths to get to their farms.
“This project will start in the next two months or so. A contractor has already been appointed,” she noted. About two months ago, the RA held a groundbreaking ceremony in Rundu to symbolise the upgrading to low volume seal standards of several roads in Kavango East, the district road 3402, which stretches from the Trans Caprivi highway to Unam Campus in Rundu, and district road 3448, linking Rundu-Bambi village.
The combined 22km of both roads will be upgraded and this project will be done over three years. The Road Fund Administration will fund the project and the Roads Authority will be responsible for the overall supervision.
jmuyamba@nepc.com.na