||Kharas Governor Dawid Gertze highlighted the need to fully harness the region's natural resources to drive Namibia's industrialisation agenda. 

An objection recently lodged against a successful bidder for the design of the second phase of the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Scheme has delayed the project's much-anticipated implementation.

NamWater’s latest dam bulletin, released on March 20, reveals a rise in water levels across several major reservoirs. The report, which compares current levels to those recorded on March 17, shows increases in dam storage percentages, particularly at the Hardap, Von Bach, and Swakoppoort dams.

The Governor of the ||Kharas Region has called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform to expedite the consultancy services procurement process for the design of the irrigation scheme at Neckartal Dam. 

Once fully operational, the envisaged 5,000-hectare irrigation scheme at Neckartal Dam, on the outskirts of Keetmanshoop, will provide sufficient produce for not only the domestic market but exports as well.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources says it will recommend the speedy implementation of phase II of the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Project.

The project's Phase II includes the development of 5,000 hectares of land for crop irrigation.

The government has allocated an amount of N$10 million in the 2023/2024 budget for the development of the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Project.

The project will run on two farms of a combined size of 11 000 hectares, acquired by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform.

All dams in Namibia are at 71.4% capacity. This represents a drop of 0.4% from the 71.8% recorded last week.

This information is contained in Namwater's Weekly Dam Bulletin. 

Plans by the government to start developing phase two of the Neckartal Dam Irrigation Scheme are at an advanced stage.

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said this during her familiarisation visit to the Neckartal Dam project near Keetmanshoop in the ||Kharas Region.

An inter-governmental delegation, led by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, which is in the ||Kharas Region to engage communities on the benefits of fishing, visited the Kameel River, a catchment area of the Neckartal Dam, to familiarise themselves with the situation on the ground.