The Rundu water system in Namibia is set for renovation. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) performed groundbreaking ceremony for the project with an aim of addressing the Namibia Water Corporation’s (NamWater) current challenges in meeting the water needs of the Rundu population by improving water security in the Kavango East and Kavango West regions until 2037.
The Rundu water system project will be modernized and extended. The project will involve construction of a new raw water collection and conveyance system, a new drinking water station in Rundu with a capacity of 1,800 m³ per hour, a storage reservoir, and a distribution network.
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Water scarcity
The modernized system will provide 36,000 m³ of drinking water per day to the local population. It is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027. The project will be supported by US $36M from the AfDB, granted under the Namibia Water Sector Support Programme.
The Namibian government, represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein, emphasized that this project will facilitate the sustainable production and transfer of water resources, improving access to drinking water, agricultural and industrial water, and enhancing sanitation services in rural areas. It will also build institutional capacity for sustainable water resource management in Namibia, a country characterized by its arid climate.
Namibia’s geographical and climatic characteristics make it highly vulnerable to water scarcity. The country’s arid conditions, coupled with erratic rainfall patterns, have left water as an exceedingly scarce resource.