Namibia: More land needed for Neckartal Irrigation Project

The agriculture ministry is currently trying to secure 1 200 hectares needed for Neckartal Dam's phase two that involves agricultural production. Line minister Calle Schlettwein in a statement yesterday said the ministry has managed to acquire 3 800 hectares of 5 000 hectares needed. Crops envisaged for the land include dates, grapes, grains, horticulture and lucerne. Phase one, which is the construction of the dam, was completed in November 2019 at a cost of N$ 5.7 billion. The dam has a holding capacity of 857 million cubic metres of water, making it Namibia's largest dam to date. Government envisioned using its own resources to complete phase two - but due to recent global and national economic headwinds that negatively affected government's fiscal position, it is no longer possible. Thus, the ministry, in collaboration with public-private partnership (PPP) unit at the finance ministry, has initiated the process to operationalise the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Project. "The PPP ...