afrol News, 4 June - The Namibian government today received notice of two credits granted by the African Development Bank (ADB), totalling US$ 32.5 million. The first loan is to finance a government education project, while the second is to finance a road connection to South Africa.

At a meeting in the Addis Ababa offices of ADB yesterday, Namibian Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Kukuri Barminas Rick, signed the two credit agreements with ADB officials.

A loan of US $7.09 million is to finance the so-called Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Project (Education III) in Namibia. The project falls within the Namibian government's national development plan and responds to the objectives of the national education policy.

The education project, according to an ADB release, "aims to contribute to the responsiveness of the education system to the skills requirements of the labour market and the production capacity of the economy."

The loan would be used to finance the establishment of the National Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CIET) in Tsumeb "with a view to enhancing the framework for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology adaptation." It was also to help improve the quality and efficiency of vocational education and training programs in Namibia.

The second and considerably larger loan of 205.13 million Rand (US$ 25.30 million) is to finance the Aus-Rosh Pinah road upgrading project in Namibia. The road will constitute a new major road connection between Namibia's southern coastal town of Lüderitz and the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

This project is to involve the upgrading of 169 km of gravel road to bitumen standard with a width of 6.8 meter carriageway between Aus and Rosh Pinah and 1.5 meter gravel shoulders in order to provide an all-weather road.

It was hoped that this infrastructure project would contribute to the reduction of the transportation cost of mining products, agricultural inputs and produce as well as travel time between Aus and Rosh Pinah.

- Besides significant reduction in vehicle operating and road maintenance costs, the project will solve the problems of road accidents caused by dust on the existing gravel road, the project's description said. "Furthermore, the connection of the road to South Africa will help promote tourism and regional integration."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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