The Walvis Bay Municipality has secured a N$23 million deal with a Polish city to fund the construction of a promenade at Independence Beach.

Walvis Bay Mayor Trevino Forbes is set to lead a delegation of 11 people from the municipality to travel to Poland to sign an agreement with the city of Czerwonak.

The European Union will thereafter provide N$23 million to set up urban infrastructure at Kuisebmund's Independence beach.

Acting Chief Executive Officer David Uushona says the point is to replicate the existing promenade at the lagoon in Meersig.

Moreover, he explained that the project will reduce costs incurred by residents in Kuisebmond, who often travel to the lagoon to exercise, do leisure activities or simply enjoy the view.

"We are really fortunate to have this project. And what will also happen is the delegation will now go to Poland and be exposed to similar developments and how similar developments are being managed so that once they are back here they can manage, you know, our development and they call it 'green development'. 

Some critics speculated that the agreement might have strings attached, such as promises to exchange land or natural resources.

Uushona and the mayor both denied such allegations.

"If one looks at this whole arrangement, it's a government-to-government arrangement. It's not a local authority to local authority arrangement, and even though it was initiated through our association of local authorities in Namibia, it's not through a local authority."

Forbes says there are more twinning agreements with foreign cities lined up.

"It is mutually beneficial for Walvis Bay to have agreements with towns and other continents in Europe and Asia where we can learn from these people and implement whatever we learned in Walvis Bay. The Reunion Islands in France and we are meeting with Namport and Dunkirk's people, so it will be mutually beneficial if Namport has a twinning agreement with Dunkirk, a port there that Walvis Bay municipality also has a twinning agreement with the town that hosts this port."

The trip to Poland is fully funded by the European Union.