NAMIBIA: two wastewater treatment plants will be rehabilitated in Windhoek for drinking water

Windhoek wants to increase its supply of drinking water from treated wastewater. To do this, the government of Namibia plans to rehabilitate the Gammams and Otjomuise wastewater treatment plants, located in the Namibian capital. The project has also just benefited from a concessional loan of around US$56 million from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency. The agreement was signed on December 12, 2023 between Beatrice Lucke, KfW Country Director for Namibia, and Iipumbu Wendelinus Shiimi, the Namibian Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises.

Like many other Namibian cities, Windhoek regularly experiences extreme and prolonged periods of drought. This results in an extremely delicate situation in terms of water supply, which requires precise management of demand, which involves the valorization of unconventional water resources such as wastewater.

At the Gammams municipal wastewater treatment plant, the work could increase the wastewater collection flow to 50,000 m³  per day against a flow rate of between 32,000 to 38,000 m³ currently. The plant built in 1961 is capable of treating 28,000 m³ of wastewater per day.

Strengthen drinking water supply for more than 400,000 Windhoek residents

The objective is the same for the Otjomuise station. According to the German Embassy in Namibia, the rehabilitation and expansion of the Gammams and Otjomuise facilities will also guarantee the supply of a second direct drinking water recovery plant (DPR 2) which will contribute to water security of Windhoek, as well as the protection of water resources throughout the central region.

The DPR 2 project is also funded by the Namibian government with support from KfW, and will be implemented at the same time as the treatment plant upgrade works. In total, more than 400,000 people will benefit from these two projects in Windhoek.