The Roads Authority (RA) has paid out N$32.2 million in compensation to seven farmers whose land was acquired for the expansion of the Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport road. The announcement was made during the official opening of a new roundabout near the airport on Wednesday.
RA Chief Executive Officer Dr Conrad Lutombi said the land acquisition process was carried out with fairness and transparency, ensuring all affected parties were properly compensated. “The total compensation we paid stands at N$32.2 million. These were landowners along the route who had to give up part of their farms for this national development. We engaged them properly and ensured they were paid according to approved valuations,” Lutombi said.
The newly completed roundabout, located near the airport and police station, is now open to traffic. It forms part of the broader Dr Hage Geingob Freeway project, aimed at improving access and easing congestion in the area. “We are opening this circle to the public, including residents of the police station and airport users,” Lutombi added. “Temporary access to the airport remains in place while final touches inside the airport are being completed.”
The 49-kilometre upgrade of the road to freeway standard is being carried out in two phases Section 2A and Section 2B at a total cost of about N$3 billion. This includes compensation to landowners.
Section 2B, which begins just past Dordabis, is 99.9% complete and expected to be finished by the end of August. Section 2A, stretching from the Sam Nujoma East Interchange to Dordabis, is currently 95% complete. “We are on track to officially open the freeway by the third week of September,” Lutombi said. “An invitation has already been extended to Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to officiate the opening.”
Funding for Section 2B came from a grant by the People’s Republic of China, while Section 2A is being financed through a loan from the African Development Bank.
Speaking at the site, Renier van Rooyen of SMEC Namibia, the consulting engineers for Section 2A, said the project had faced setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This section covers only 20 kilometres but includes the largest amount of cut-and-fill ever recorded in a single Namibian road project,” he said. “We’ve been working for five years and are about a year behind schedule because of the pandemic. We now expect full completion by mid-September.”
Dr Lutombi highlighted the long-term economic significance of the project, noting that delays would have driven up costs significantly. “If we had waited another five or ten years, this project would have cost the country over N$5 billion,” he said. “Now was the right time. This is a long-term investment that will benefit Namibia for decades to come.”
