Namibia’s state-owned water utility will halt supply to the capital city of Windhoek and surrounding industrial hubs on Friday for essential infrastructure upgrades, a move that threatens to temporarily disrupt businesses and residents in the region.
The suspension at the Von Bach Treatment Plant, originally slated for May 22 before being deferred, will run from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time, according to Namibia Water Corp. spokesman Lot Ndamanomhata. The outage is required to extend 11 and 66 kilovolt busbars to a mobile substation, requiring a complete isolation of the facility’s pump stations.
The maintenance operation impacts a critical economic corridor in Namibia. Beyond the municipal supplies of Windhoek and Okahandja, the stoppage affects the Gross Barmen resort, the Osona Military Base, Osona Village, operations at Namib Poultry Industries, and the Hosea Kutako International Airport.
Local authorities are moving to mitigate the operational downside. The City of Windhoek said in a statement Tuesday that it plans to fill all municipal reservoirs ahead of the shutdown to sustain supplies and minimize commercial friction. While municipal officials expect the macroeconomic impact on residents to be minimal, they have urged consumers to curb consumption to preserve regional reservoir pressures during the restoration window.
