OVITOTO: Construction work on three bridges between Ovitoto and Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa Region started on Tuesday.

The three bridges at the Bobbejaan, Niehaus and Swakop Rivers, which are located on the district road (DR) 2102 that turns off from the B1 road approximately 59 kilometres north of Windhoek, are being constructed at a cost of N.dollars 63 million.

The Roads Authority (RA) on Monday entered into a contract agreement with the Roads Contractor Company (RCC) for the construction of the bridges over the rivers along a district gravel road in the Ovitoto area.

The construction is set to be completed over a period of 12 months.

In a speech read on his behalf by Minister of Information and Communication Technology Joel Kaapanda here on Tuesday, Minister of Works and Transport Erkki Nghimtina said Government intends to continue striving to develop major road infrastructure such as the bridges in order to attract meaningful investment.

He added that the development will also provide access to various facilities such as hospitals and schools.

Nghimtina said the bridges will be constructed with 12 small drainage structures in order to minimise the danger posed during the rainy season.

Speaking at the same occasion, Otjozondjupa Regional Governor Rapama Kamehozu welcomed the development, saying the lack of bridges has been a problem to people in the Ovitoto area.

He said it has led to a number of deaths over the years.

Kamehozu recalled that on 23 December 1963, about seven people drowned in the Swakop River while five others went missing and another two were found.