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33-610: The corridor also includes railway lines from Walvis Bay as far as Gobabis in Namibia, and from Johannesburg as far as Lobatse in Botswana. Connecting the two railway lines has been discussed since 2010, and an agreement between the two countries was signed in 2014, but the project has since become economically unfeasible. The Maputo Corridor provides an onwards connection from Gauteng to Maputo in Mozambique . Together these corridors form

66-468: A German garrison. While the military fort, built in 1896–7, has long since disappeared, one of the few buildings dating back to that era is the field hospital , or Lazarett, which has been declared a national monument. Gobabis has a semi-arid climate ( BSh , according to the Köppen climate classification ), with hot summers and cool winters (with mild days and chilly nights). The average annual precipitation

99-794: A coal terminal and new port facility in either Lüderitz or Walvis Bay . CIC Energy continued to search for a partner or purchaser. In March 2012 the Dutch energy trader Vitol Energy took a 9.1% equity stake in CIC Energy, injecting much-needed operational cash. With CIC's license coming up for renewal, the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources put up the Mmamabula South and Central blocks for tender in June 2012. These blocks held about 670 million tonnes of coal. Bids would be evaluated in part on how quickly

132-504: A portion of the plant's output to meet projected demand. The IRP was eventually completed in May 2011. It did not include any window for purchase of power from Mmamabula before 2019, and then the amounts purchased would be less than 1200 MW. CIC Energy was forced to put the project on hold after investing over C$ 100 million. Early in 2011 it was reported that JSW Energy of India would take over Mmamabula. This took place in 2012. JSW Energy

165-462: A statue of a large Brahman bull with the inscription "Cattle Country" greets visitors to the town. Gobabis also has its own local airport . The area around Gobabis and along the Nossob River had a strong population of elephants. The settlement itself was a base camp for ivory hunters and a trading post for elephant tusks. In 1856 a mission station was established by one Friederich Eggert of

198-490: A target date to gazette their Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by September 2010. This would lay out South Africa's strategy for meeting new energy needs from 2013 onward, assumed to include new government-owned facilities and contracts with private suppliers such as CIC Energy. South Africa said they could not commit to any Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) with CIC before the IRP was approved. The delay would affect Botswana, which needed

231-722: A unique road connection between Walvis Bay on the Atlantic and Maputo on the Indian Ocean ; the connected regions are also known as the Walvis Bay–Botswana–Gauteng–Maputo development corridor. The route Walvis Bay–Windhoek–Lobatse–Pretoria–Maputo is route number 40 in the Southern African Development Community Regional Trunk Road Network. The corridor begins in the coastal town of Walvis Bay , heading northwards as

264-522: Is 370 mm (15 in). "Ministry of Works & Transport: Tabulation of Climate Statistics for Selected Stations in Namibia" (PDF) . 2012. Gobabis continues to grow as a town due to goods being transported from the mines of landlocked Botswana to the Namibian port of Walvis Bay , and furthermore from consumer goods being imported into Namibia from Gauteng in South Africa. The transport route

297-551: Is a subsidiary of the Jindal Group , chaired by Sajjan Jindal . Later there was speculation that the Chinese would be in the market for the asset. However, lack of high-capacity access to port facilities would be a drawback in exporting coal. A pre-feasibility study for building infrastructure to export 10 million tonnes of coal yearly via Namibia gave estimates of US$ 2.5 billion for a 1,500 km new railway and US $ 1.1 billion for

330-484: Is also a subsidiary of the Jindal Group. In September 2012 it was announced that Jindal Steel and Power was completing a $ 116 million purchase of CIC Energy, acquiring its rights in the coalfield. Jindal said it planned to invest up to $ 700 million to develop a coal mine and a 300 MW power plant. It would also develop coal exports from the field, possibly via rail to Mozambique. The deal was conditional on approval by

363-569: Is known as the Trans-Kalahari Corridor . Gobabis is connected to the Namibian railway system. The passenger train that used to run to the capital Windhoek four times a week, no longer takes passengers. The town hosts a state hospital, a state clinic and a private hospital, banking and shopping facilities. Legare Stadium is located in the town. Gobabis is governed by a municipal council that has seven seats. The town has its own local party,

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396-569: Is predominantly aimed for coal transport from the Mmamabula coal fields to the Walvis Bay port , with an estimate that it would be exporting 90 million tonnes of coal each year from Botswana to India and China . The route will follow the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) highway past Gobabis to Omitara , west to Okahandja , and onwards to Walvis Bay . In Botswana, the line shall start at

429-577: The B2 road to the coastal town of Swakopmund (a distance of 35 km), where it turns eastwards. It heads eastwards from Swakopmund, through Karibib , to the town of Okahandja (a distance of 290 km), where it reaches a junction with the B1 road . At this junction, the B2 ends and the corridor becomes the B1 southwards. The entire section from Walvis Bay to Okahandja is shared with

462-674: The Gobabis Residents' Association (GRA) which won three council seats in the 1998 local authority election and one seat in 2004 . The 2015 local authority election was won by SWAPO which gained 3,077 votes and five seats. One seat each was won by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 682 votes) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO, 153 votes). SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election but lost majority control over

495-563: The Gobabis electoral constituency . Gobabis is situated 200 km (120 mi) down the B6 motorway from Windhoek to Botswana . The town is 113 km (70 mi) from the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an important link to South Africa on the tarred Trans-Kalahari Highway . Gobabis is in the heart of the cattle farming area. In fact Gobabis is so proud of its cattle farming that

528-706: The Kalahari Constituency . Gobabis is home to Wennie du Plessis Secondary School, which began as an Afrikaans -medium school. With the government abolition of non- English education after grade 4 at independence , the Afrikaans speaking community endeavoured to start a private school, and the Gobabis Gymnasium came into existence in January 2000 with 67 students from grades 8 to 11 and 6 teachers. In January 2002, 122 students were enrolled, and on December 2, 2004,

561-579: The Mmamabula coal fields connecting to the existing railway to Rasesa , going west and passing north of Molepolole and east of Letlhakeng , joining the Molepolole-Kang road and through to the Mamuno border post. Gobabis Gobabis ( Otjiherero : Epako , Khoekhoe : ǂKhoandabes ) is a town in eastern Namibia . It is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region , and the district capital of

594-471: The Mozambique border at Komatipoort (a distance of 415 km), as part of the Maputo Corridor , completing the route from Walvis Bay to Maputo. The Trans-Kalahari Railway is a planned railway expected to be built alongside the Trans-Kalahari Corridor. The railway is expected to mostly be a freight haulage line due to the path focusing on connecting industry rather than population centres. The line

627-755: The Rhenish Missionary Society . In the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century several conflicts flared up between the Ovambanderu and the Khauas Khoikhoi, as well as between the settlers and the indigenous people. Gobabis is in an area where the Herero and the Nama people fought wars against one another, as well as with settlers from the Cape colony that occupied the land. According to oral tradition,

660-643: The Tripoli–Cape Town Highway . From Windhoek, the corridor heads eastwards as the B6 for 315 km, through Gobabis , to the border town of Buitepos , where it crosses the national boundary in an easterly direction to enter Botswana and become the A2 road . From Buitepos, the corridor heads east-south-east as the A2 for 750 km, through Jwaneng , to the border town of Lobatse . Immediately after Lobatse, at Skilpadshek ,

693-531: The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road (Trans-Caprivi Corridor). From Okahandja, it heads southwards as the A1 road (that is the freeway section of the B1 road ) for 70 km to the city of Windhoek (capital of Namibia ) where it reaches a junction with the B6 road . At this junction, the corridor becomes the B6 eastwards. The section from Okahandja to Windhoek is shared with

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726-684: The Central block, 643 million tonnes in the Western block, and 1,392 million tonnes in the Eastern block. The South block, which lies on both sides of the road and rail corridor, is estimated to hold another 311 million tonnes of coal. The planned Serorome coal mine would be in the Central Block, supplying 4.7 million metric sales tonnes annually for at least thirty years to the planned 1,200 MW Mmamabula power station. Open cast mining would be used for 30% of

759-608: The Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources. In February 2008, David Wheeler of the Center for Global Development published a paper analyzing the carbon dioxide emissions from the Mmamabula power plant, which the World Bank was proposing to help fund. He compared the cost of power to "clean" solar thermal power, and found that a charge of about $ 35 per ton of carbon dioxide would make

792-604: The Whites, this expression was likely derived from goba (argue, quarrel) and bis (place): The place where people quarreled . A common earlier interpretation of the name, ǂkhoa (Elephant) -bes (place), Elephant fountain , was introduced by Heinrich Vedder and gained wide acceptance. Vedder also opined that it was Amraal Lambert , Captain of the Kaiǀkhauan (Khauas Nama) who called the place Gobabis because he could not pronounce ǂKoabes . Apart from linguistic problems, this interpretation

825-828: The area, and underground bord and pillar mining for the remainder. Water from the Dikgatlhong Dam , completed in 2012, was expected to supply the coalfield and power station via the North-South Carrier pipeline. In March 2009, CIC Energy announced that it had signed a contract with Shanghai Electric as contractor for engineering, procurement and construction of the Mmamabula Energy Project (MEP), with commercial operations expected to start four years after financing had been arranged. The same month CIC Energy submitted bids to Eskom of South Africa and Botswana Power Corporation to supply electricity. South Africa had

858-549: The bidder would be able to start exploiting the coal field. However, in August 2012 the government decided to renew CIC's retention licence for the central block, with about 361 million tonnes of coal. A week later the Competition Authority approved a proposed takeover of CIC Energy by Jindal Steel and Power . Jindal requires large supplies of coal for its Indian steel plants. Jindal Steel and Power, chaired by Naveen Jindal ,

891-555: The corridor crosses the national boundary in an easterly direction to enter South Africa and become the N4 road ( Platinum Highway ). From Skilpadshek, the corridor heads eastwards as the N4 for 285 km, through Rustenburg , to Pretoria (Tshwane; Capital of South Africa ), where the Trans-Kalahari Corridor ends at an interchange with the N1 road . The N4 then continues eastwards from Pretoria to reach

924-514: The earliest name for the settlement in this area was the Khoekhoegowab word ǂKhoandabes, the place where the elephant came to lick . The reason for this name is speculated to be that elephant tusks that would crack in the dry and hot climate of the Omaheke were at times stored right in the settlement's well. The Herero called the place Epako . Later the settlement was referred to as "Gobabis" by

957-643: The east of the main road and rail corridor in Botswana between Gaborone and Francistown and south of the Serorome River . The power station would be near to the village of Mmaphashalala . It is about 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of the capital city of Gaborone. The Mmamabula coalfield is considered to be a western extension of the Waterberg Coalfield in the Ellisras Basin in South Africa, to

990-463: The east, which contains about 40% of South Africa's coal resources. CIC Energy of Canada owned two prospecting licences in the coal field and conducted extensive exploratory drilling between 2005 and 2012. The portions of the coalfield for which CIC Energy held licences are estimated to have 2.4 billion tonnes of thermal coal of a quality suitable for export, for local power generation and for coal gasification. Deposits were roughly 360 million tonnes in

1023-638: The municipal council. It obtained 1,986 votes and gained three seats. One seat each went to the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 818 votes), the GRA (681 votes), NUDO (440 votes) and the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly DTA, with 338 votes. Gobabis is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region . Gobabis Constituency covers most of the town area except for its eastern township of Nossobville which belongs to

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1056-521: The school was registered to teach grades 1 through 12. Primary school education officially was started in January 2005. The Omaheke Regional Library is situated in town between the Epako suburb and Legare Stadium. The most notable landmark upon entering Gobabis from Windhoek is the Cattle Country Statue. Mmamabula Mmamabula is a planned coal mine and coal-fired power station to

1089-513: Was contradicted by an 1845 letter by Reverend Joseph Tindall, a Wesleyan missionary , which states: "Reached Gobabis which I named 'Elephant's fountain'" - a place name like "Place of Altercation" would not bode too well for the missionary station he intended to establish. The Gobabis district was proclaimed by the German authorities in February 1894 and in June the following year Gobabis was occupied by

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