STAFF WRITER
Delays in the finalisation of a Final Investment Decision (FID) in the US$ 10 billion (approximately N$160 billion ) Hyphen Hydrogen Energy project has irked the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).
The IPC is demanding that the ministry of industry mines and Hyphen Energy present a report to parliament revealing how much Namibian tax payers spent in acquiring a 24% stake in the project which is planned for the Tsau //Khaeb National Park.
In a statement released by the IPC member of parliament and shadow minister of international relations and trade Rodney Cloete on Tuesday , the opposition party said: ‘The Green Hydrogen Programme and the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy should table a report to the House on where the agreement stands against its own phases, what the 24 per cent stake has cost and will cost, and whether any offtake agreement has been signed.”
Coete questioned why the Hyphen project is ‘delaying’ announcing its final investment decision to 2027 despite gaining what he described as government support since 2023 when the project was announced.
“In 2023 Namibians were promised 15,000 jobs. In 2026 we are told the investment decision is at the end of 2027. Parliament should see the clock,and who is paying to keep it running,”Cloete said.
The Hyphen Hydrogen Energy green ammonia project is a flagship US$10 billion (€9.7 billion) initiative planned for Namibia. This capital expenditure is roughly equivalent to Namibia’s entire annual GDP. Positioned as sub-Saharan Africa’s largest vertically integrated green hydrogen project, it intends to utilize Namibia’s world-class solar and wind resources to pioneer a green hydrogen economy on the continent
The IPC argues that delays in the project taking off might be taking a toll on Namibian tax payers who hold a significant stake and are yearning for jobs.
The IPC is also demanding answers on whether the planned green ammonia project has now secured offtakers.
“This matters because Namibia is no longer a spectator. In December 2023 Government took up its 24 per cent stake in the project through the SDG Namibia One fund. Every delay is now partly ours, and so is every cost of keeping the project alive while it waits,” Cloete said.\The IPC also questioned the ability of the project to take off in the absence of offtakers.
“Without a signed buyer, no lender will fund a US$10 billion plant,” Cloete said.
So far the Hyphen project has received N$100 million from the African Development Bank to help the project reach a final investment decision. “Namibians were told when Cabinet approved the feasibility and implementation agreement in May 2023, the public was promised up to 15,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent ones, with 90 per cent going to Namibians. The agreement set out its own phases: up to six months of preliminary work, two years of feasibility, and 120 days for the Government to validate the results. On those published phases, the feasibility work should have been on the Government’s desk by about the first quarter of 2026. Instead, the investment decision sits almost two years further out,”Cloete said.
Namibia Business Review has reached out for comment form Hyphen Hydrogen Chief Executive Officer Marco Raffinetti and will publish a follow up story when they respond.
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