Construction of the N$450 million Katima Mulilo wastewater treatment plant is officially underway after the Katima Mulilo Town Council handed the project site over to contractor Fulbright Water on 1 September, following the long-awaited grant of an environmental clearance certificate Wansom AI.
Key takeaways
- The N$450 million Katima Mulilo wastewater treatment plant, sewer pump station upgrades and rising main works have been handed to Fulbright Water for construction Wansom AI.
- Project finance is being provided by Standard Bank Namibia and Old Mutual, with a construction programme of 13 to 14 months Windhoek Observer.
- About 40 workers are on site today, with the workforce set to top 100 once the main treatment plant is built; 70–75% of staff are being drawn from the Zambezi region Wansom AI.
- Two delays have now been resolved: the environmental clearance certificate and the relocation of residents living within a 250-metre buffer around the site Wansom AI.
- Katima Mulilo Mayor Kabende Kabende says the upgraded system will relieve pressure on aged infrastructure and support 20 years of growth, with treated wastewater also being recycled for uses such as irrigation Windhoek Observer.
What happened: site handover clears a stalled N$450m programme
Mayor Kabende Kabende confirmed that all prerequisites for the project have now been met, allowing the Fulbright Water Namibia programme to proceed Wansom AI. The scope, as reported, is broader than a single treatment works: it covers a new plant, upgrades to existing sewer pump stations and rising mains, and an eastward expansion of the sewer network to support planned town growth Wansom AI. The project is expected to run for 13 to 14 months once the main plant works begin Windhoek Observer.
Two pre-construction obstacles had to be cleared before the site could be handed over. The first was the environmental clearance certificate, which Mayor Kabende described as a major source of delay Wansom AI. The second was the relocation of residents who had illegally occupied land inside a 250-metre buffer zone around the site; the Council confirmed those occupants have been moved and warned that law enforcement will remove any new illegal structures Wansom AI. Reporting in a story published on 8 September also notes that the existing oxidation plant will be decommissioned once the new facility is operational Windhoek Observer.
Mayor Kabende framed the upgrade in operational terms, saying the project will relieve pressure on an aged network that has been running beyond its design capacity: "This will alleviate the pressures we have on our existing network infrastructure, in terms of sewer, the majority of which is aged and was not able to hold the existing capacity," he told the Windhoek Observer Windhoek Observer. He added that the upgraded system is intended to accommodate growth over the next 20 years, and that treated wastewater will be recycled for end uses such as irrigation Windhoek Observer. The build is being financed under a Standard Bank and Old Mutual facility, which the Town Council says requires quarterly reporting on local workforce participation Wansom AI.
Fulbright Water's Group chief operating officer asked residents to brace for short-term disruption, noting that "usually when you're doing sewer works, there is a lot of discomfort that may happen, and we request the patience of the citizens for the next 13 to 14 months" Windhoek Observer. Project Manager Scott Richards reported that 70% to 75% of the current crew is drawn from the Zambezi region, with 40 employees now on sewer and pump-station works and headcount projected to exceed 100 once the main treatment plant is under construction Wansom AI.
Specification read
The reported envelope is N$450 million for a single-town greenfield works plus network, pump-station and rising-main upgrades, with the existing oxidation plant to be retired on commissioning Wansom AI. The design horizon the Mayor cited is 20 years of population growth, and treated effluent is being reclassified as a reuse product (irrigation was named) Windhoek Observer. None of the source texts quote a design flow in m³/day, an ML/d figure, a population equivalent or a BOD/COD loading, so the buyer-side number has to come from elsewhere. As an order-of-magnitude check only — and explicitly not from the sources — a small-to-mid municipal plant sized for a fast-growing African town of Katima Mulilo's class is typically specified in the low thousands of m³/day to roughly 20,000 m³/day (general industry range, not from the sources). A works at that scale would normally run a screening → grit removal → primary clarification → biological stage (A2O, MBR, MBBR, SBR or UASB, depending on footprint and effluent targets) → tertiary filtration and disinfection train, with DAF or a similar solids-separation step common where sludge handling is constrained (general industry range, not from the sources). This project bears on the biological, tertiary and reuse stages by replacing an oxidation pond with a new enclosed works, and on the collection network by upgrading pump stations and rising mains Wansom AI. If your plant is a small-to-mid municipal works in the low thousands of m³/day with an aged oxidation pond, periodic overflows on the existing sewer, and a council mandate to deliver reuse-quality effluent for irrigation, this is what to watch: site handover has happened, environmental clearance is granted, the buffer-zone land is cleared, and 13–14 months of sewer disruption lie ahead before a new enclosed treatment train is commissioned. Buyers scoping parallel upgrades can benchmark the equipment specification against our Industries We Serve hub and the reference design discussion in our DAF vs Clarifier for Pulp & Paper Wastewater in Cullman: 2026 Guide; a Municipal treatment train is the natural comparator for this class of project.
FAQ
What is being built at Katima Mulilo?
A new wastewater treatment plant, sewer pump station and rising-main upgrades, and a network extension east of town, replacing the existing oxidation plant once the new facility is operational Wansom AI.
What is the contract value and who is paying?
The reported contract value is N$450 million, financed by Standard Bank Namibia and Old Mutual Windhoek Observer.
How long will construction take?
Construction is expected to run for 13 to 14 months, with the main treatment plant phase to follow the current sewer and pump-station works Windhoek Observer.
Will the treated wastewater be reused?
Yes. Reporting indicates treated wastewater will be recycled and potentially reused, with irrigation named as an end use Windhoek Observer. Typical reuse envelopes for this class of municipal plant are on the order of 50–80% of treated flow depending on season and demand (general industry range, not from the sources).
