14.01.2011 - Germany supports qualification of civil engineers

Following the successful bilateral consultations on development co-operation held in Windhoek from 29 to 30 September 2010, the Federal Republic of Germany committed an additional fifteen million Euro (135 million NAD) on financial and technical co-operation with the Republic of Namibia as a grant. The commitments will be used to develop the new faculty of engineering of the University of Namibiain Ongwediwa as well as to support the Polytechnic of Namibiain the qualification of engineers for the Namibian transport sector.

From the fifteen million Euro grant eight are earmarked to co-fund the construction of the new engineering faculty at the Ongwediwa Campus of the University of Namibia. This component will be implemented with the support of German financial co-operation by the KfW-Entwicklungsbank. Five million Euro are earmarked to develop the teaching programme in civil engineering at the Ongwediwa Campus of the University of Namibiamillion Euro) and two million Euro to further support the civil engineering programme of the Polytechnic of Namibia. These components shall be implemented with the support of German technical co-operation by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, formerly known as GTZ).

The commitments are aiming at meeting the increasing skills demand in civil engineering by the Namibian transport sector, specifically by the Roads Authority, the Ministry of Works and Transport and private road contractors. Transport is one of the focal areas of German-Namibian development co-operation. The co-operation encompasses among others the labour-based construction of rural access roads in Northern Namibia, funding of regional transport corridors through financial support to the Road Fund Administration, advisory services to the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Roads Authority, the qualification of civil engineers in co-operation with the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia as well as training of SMEs in the area of road construction.