Usakos anticipates start of two mega-projects during 2019

Sharlien Tjambari

The Chief Executive Officer of Usakos Town Council Ivan Lombardt is determined to see one thousand low cost houses constructed at this Erongo town before his term in office expires. A lack of affordable housing is a direct result of the rapid growth of the Hahkaseb informal settlement and the social- and services headache that accompanies such rapid growth.

Lombardt was appointed the CEO of Usakos in February 2018. He wants to leave a legacy as the chief executive that made a difference in the lives of Usakos residents and the one to turn the table on the town’s economic setbacks.
“Usakos is right in the centre of Erongo region and we hope to exploit this positioning positively. There are a lot of potential here for investors and people are only starting to realise that now”, explained Lombardt.
In yesteryear Usakos was a railway hub. The town has a potential for industry development around the railways concept, tourism, agriculture, and serve as a service centre to travellers and for the various agriculture communities living in the district.
According to Lombardt, Usakos will soon be home to an oil and gas stor-age facility which will be constructed by MDL International Trade. The project’s worth is N$700 million. MDL International Trade already acqu-ired 15 hectares of land from the Usakos Town Council and construction of this facility is expected to commence this year already.
Once in operation, the facility has the capacity to employ a total of 800 people, whilst further indirect employment opportunities would be created to a total of 2400 people including jobs created during the con-struction phase.
“This is not the only project in the pipeline. A locomotive re-manufac-turing plant is envisaged by TransNamib. Land has been acquired for this purpose and the development phase of the project is expected to also com-mence this year, explained Lombardt.
Other investors have also come on board with intentions to construct a fish processing plant where fish will be canned as well as a fish drying plant.
Amongst all this new and exciting developments, Usakos Town Council also hopes to have its 4.2 hectares garden, donated by Valencia Mine, up and running again. “The garden project suffered several setbacks, but we are determined to rope in investors and to restore this garden to full capacity as it is necessary for food security and it creates direly needed direct- and indirect jobs”, explained Lombardt.
Council is also busy with a rejuvenation and beautifying of the town by planting trees and plants to spruce up the environment for visitors and locals alike.