Infrastructure in Namibia

During our trip to Namibia, we will be spending a lot of time on the road. Fortunately for us, the roads in Namibia are the best in Africa, according to the World Economic Forum, a nonprofit foundation in Geneva. With a remarkable score of 5.2 out of 7, Namibia beat other more developed countries like Great Britain, Ecuador, and Australia.

Namibia has over 29,000 miles of road, 4,524 miles of which is paved. Namibia recognizes that road infrastructure is closely tied with socio-economic development and therefore has placed a large amount of focus on improving and maintaining roadways. In 2000, the Roads Authority was established in Namibia to oversee development and management of roadways.

The World Bank estimates that the infrastructure gap in this region can decrease national growth by 2% each year, therefore closing this gap is a priority for the Namibian government. While Namibia has done a great job improving its road infrastructure, moving forward, the government is putting emphasis on improving the railway, water, and energy infrastructure. In 2014, Namibia imported 60% of its energy from South Africa. The government is hopeful that the recently discovered Kudu gas field, which is a natural gas reserve of about 1.3 trillion cubic feet, will give the country more energy independence. Although the proposed mining of this gas field raises questions about sustainability. Given Namibia’s climate, it seems like solar energy should be incredibly financially viable.  

Having clean water is a challenge for Namibia because it is located in one of the driest regions of Africa. This is an especially challenging problem given climate change will most likely exacerbate the water shortage in the coming years.

The Namibian economy is heavily reliant on revenue from mining. However, the government is aware that having such a narrow economic portfolio can cause problems in the long term. Therefore, Namibia is seeking ways to diversify their economy through more tourism and other avenues. While we are in Namibia, it will be interesting to see how the country is positioning itself as a developing economy. 

--Christina

https://www.newera.com.na/2018/02/13/world-economic-forum-ranks-namibias-roads-best-in-africa/

https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=114691&page=archive-read

http://www.ozy.com/acumen/the-best-roads-in-africa-not-where-youd-think/81273

https://www.namibian.com.na/64326/read/Namibias-roads-ranked-the-best-in-Africa

https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/2014-2018_-_Namibia_Country_Strategy_Paper.pdf