Work starts on Swakop waterfront

By: ADAM HARTMAN

DEVELOPMENT of Swakopmund’s ‘La Mer’ waterfront started on Tuesday after the site was officially handed over to Namibian Construction to start with the civil works.

The waterfront development has seen many financial and political challenges over the past decade, and has been handed down from one developer to another, until finally, Safari Investments Namibia managed to close its N$400 million deal with the Swakopmund municipality.
The civil works phase, according to Windhoek Consulting Engineers’ Dirk van der Merwe, will include three phases spanning 22 weeks - “if the weather conditions permit”.
Firstly, this includes the establishment of a platform on which the more than 16 000 square metre supermarket and retail centre plus a 100-bed hotel and 29 luxury residential units will be built.
Secondly, it includes the erection of a retaining wall of between two and four metres high to ensure that high tides do not flood the development; and finally the civil works phase will see the construction of the breakwater and ski-boat launch, which will be the foundation of the development’s proposed marina.
Van der Merwe said construction on the breakwater may be hampered by rough seas in August.
“We will then have to stop and carry on when the weather clears. In the meantime work on the platform and wall will continue,” he said.
No blasting will take place during this stage as all the necessary rock for the breakwater will be transported from a quarry outside Swakopmund.
Once the civil work is completed, building work will begin.
According to Wynand Marais of Safari Investments Namibia, the entire project should be completed by the end of 2013.
He said the main shops in the retail area will include Checkers and the Edcon Group, which is the umbrella body of Edgars, CNA and Jet.
Marais told The Namibian that some adaptations had to be made to the final design of La Mer to get the approval of the local aesthetics committee.
These changes are currently being addressed – particularly the southeastern wall of the facility that was described as “looking like a warehouse”.
An open day to view and discuss the latest design is expected to be held later this month.

Namibian Newspaper 12.04.2012

Waterfront gets another chance but NO MARINA!

Waterfront gets another chance but NO MARINA!

Request for positive information

Any positive contribution about the progress of this project will be welcomed.

Please post news.

Marina Breakwater & Waterfront Development

This is one of the biggest building initiatives in Swakopmund's history. The proposed Waterfront development, already four years in planning, will add shops, housing, restaurants and a marina to what Swakopmund already has to offer.

Environmental studies have taken three years and many man-hours of time and investment to design the marina. Construction of the walls has now gone out to tender. Once construction has begun, the marina walls should be complete in about a year.

The quarry that is necessary for creating a breakwater at the new marina has been approved, and the latest plans for the waterfront have been annexed to the original agreement.

One of the Best Harbour designers in the world has been commissioned to design the harbour. When it is finished, it will open up business opportunities with facilities creating the demand for activities such as Mola Mola-type tours, sundowner cruises, fishing excursions and more.

The beach will grow north of the development as sand is pushed around the marina. There is a lot of interest in the new yacht club and the moorings, and employment opportunities will ultimately be created.

The scope of the project is extremely big for Namibia, as hopefully the rewards will also be. But it’s a long-term project that will take at least four years to complete.

Passionate Yachtsman

I have a passion for Yachts and Sailing and this is why I have an interest in the development of the Marina at Swakopmund and it's successful completion.

This is surely going to have a tremendous impact on Sailing and is bound to give the local tourism industry a boost too. However there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm and interest with most people in Namibia. There are not that many sailors here and my feeling is that there are only some who have the vision and insight to foresee the economic potential that the Marina will bring.

I am therefore trying to gather as much information as I can about the current status of the project, because I believe that if a special interest group of end users can be mobilized, a positive contribution can be made. My hope is that I can find a way of making more people aware and collectively lobbying investors, local government and other stakeholders.

Surely more can be done towards further positive publicity and marketing of the project in order to ensure it's success.