Civil Engineering September 2022 | Vol 30 No 8

N amibia is a vast and expansive country with a small popula- tion, but enormous potential. The country borders Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, making it an important international road transit route. This potential has led the Namibian Presidency to set some ambitious but attainable targets for development and growth as part of the country’s Vision 2030 objectives, as well as the Harambee Prosperity Plans I (2016 to 2020) and II (2021 to 2025), which aim to improve the lives of all citizens through governance, economic advancement, social progression, infrastructure develop- ment and international relations. Integral to achieving these objec- tives is an improvement in transport infrastructure, including the surfacing of gravel roads, increasing the capacity of national roads on major routes, and the construction of new freeways. Namibia remains at the forefront in the region in terms of delivering world-class road infrastructure, with the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2019 ranking the country as the best in Africa. ROAD NETWORK Namibia’s national road network is expan- sive and comprises around 48 900 km of road, with national paved arterial routes covering 8 035 km and interconnecting with all border points. Two of the key commercial transit routes are the Trans- Zambezi Corridor – connecting Walvis Heiko Klink Managing Director VKE Namibia Consulting Engineers heiko.klink@vkenamibia.com Jerobiam Dongwi Technical Director VKE Namibia Consulting Engineers jerobiam.dongwi@vkenamibia.com Kevin Walter Pr Eng Senior Engineer VKE Namibia Consulting Engineers kevin.walter@vkenamibia.com Namibia’s drive to deliver world‑class road infrastructure In an effort to meet its development and growth targets, the Namibian government is embarking on several major road infrastructure projects that will improve the country’s connectivity. 14 September 2022  Civil Engineering