Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, has announced that the second phase of the Neckartal Dam Project has commenced and is being done within the framework of the Green Scheme Policy and Green Scheme objectives.

“So far, of the 5 000 hectares that are targeted for agricultural production, 3 800 hectares have been acquired and efforts are underway to secure the remaining 1 200 hectares,” Schlettwein said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The minister said the government had planned to develop phase two of the Neckartal irrigation project with its own resources, however, due to the recent global and national economic headwinds this is no longer possible.

“It is for these reasons that the government decided to implement phase two through the Public-Private Partnership Unit,” he said.

Schlettwein noted that the agriculture ministry, in conjunction with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit in the Ministry of Finance, has initiated the process to operationalise the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Project. The process commenced with the ministry registering the project with the PPP Unit, and by providing a dossier of all relevant documents pertaining to the project, such as feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment, detailed design and cost estimates, scoping report and specialised studies.

Schlettwein further said the PPP Unit is currently busy screening the project for PPP suitability. The process will be concluded as soon as possible so that the project can be put under production during the 2022/2023 financial year, he added.

“The aim is to ensure that the entire project is under full production in order to contribute to food security and employment creation,” noted Schlettwein.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency