N$552m Karibib–Usakos road opens

The rehabilitated 31 km road between Karibib and Usakos was opened on Friday after an N$552.25 million upgrade.Work started in November 2023. The original contract covered only the road between the two towns. The scope was later extended to the rehabilitation and upgrade of Karibib's town roads, a new District 1935 access road and the Kanone River Hospital Bridge in Usakos.The road was widened from 6.4 metres to 13.4 metres. It now has overtaking lanes, widened and strengthened bridges, upgraded drainage and paved parking and sidewalks through Karibib."In fact, we gave Karibib town a new look, feel and pride," works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi said at the opening.He said the road carries about 2 975 vehicles a day, of which 935 are heavy vehicles."Too many lives have been lost in vehicle accidents on this road. Thus, safety for our road users was at the heart of this upgrade," he said.Nekundi said the project created 593 jobs. Zhongmei Engineering Group was the main contractor. Ongwediva Consulting Engineers, in joint venture with Con-select, were the consultants.Four local SME contractors worked on the project: Ino Investment Holdings on bridges, Tangeni OM Trading on culverts and drainage, West Trading on paving, and Alugodhi Engineering on gabions, guardrails and road furniture.FatalitiesErongo Regional Council chairperson Lazarus Kanelombe said the region had recorded a 32% increase in road fatalities by mid-2026. Many of the crashes happened on the corridor linking Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Arandis, Usakos and Karibib."Government cannot invest in roads only for them to become corridors of tragedy and mourning," he said.Kanelombe said reckless driving, speeding, impaired driving and the growing number of heavy-vehicle crashes at night "must come to an end".He said the N$1 billion Swakopmund–Henties Bay–Uis road is 86% complete.

N$552m Karibib–Usakos road opens

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-07

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N$552m Karibib–Usakos road opens

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-07

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