China Eximbank provides $80 million for the DR3608 Omafo-Ongenga-Okalongo-Outapi Highway Upgrading Project

In 2013, China Eximbank and the Government of Namibia signed an $80 million concessional loan agreement for the DR3608 Omafo-Ongenga-Okalongo-Outapi Highway Upgrading Project. The loan carried the following terms: a 20 year maturity, a 5 year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance a NAD 722 million ($85 million) commercial contract that Namibia's Ministry of Engineering and Transportation and China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) signed on March 14, 2012. The project involved the upgrading of a 98.25 km two-lane highway — from Omafo to Outapi via Ongenga and Okalongo on the DR3608 — from an unsurfaced road to an asphalt road. The ultimate purpose of the project was to ease transportation costs and spur economic activity between Namibia and nearby Angola. China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began in August 2013, according to the Namibian Road Authority, but the official project commencement ceremony took place on May 15, 2013. The project lasted 29 months (7 months ahead of schedule) and a construction completion ceremony took place on February 26, 2016.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as Section 2 of the Namibia Northern Highway Upgrading Project. The Namibia Northern Highway Upgrading Project is divided into two sections: the Omakange—Ruacana section of the MR67 Highway (recorded in project #30315) and the Omafo—Outapi section of the DR3608 Highway (recorded in this project). Section 2 is also known as the Engela-Uutapi Road Upgrading Project. The Chinese project title is 纳米比亚北方公路升级改造项目.

Number of official sources

15

Number of total sources

22