Wernhil Park goes from huge to humongous – thousands of shoppers throng the shops during the first days after opening
“Just for interest sake, when we opened the doors to the public on Saturday of last week, a staggering 100,000 people visited [Wernhil Park] on that day which must be the highest foot count of any building in Namibia within a single day to date,” said the Managing Director of Broll Namibia, Marco Wenk at the mall’s presidential inauguration.
Broll Namibia, the property subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List Group, is the shopping centre’s developer and manager.
To date, Wernhil Park shopping mall has grown through four phases over 29 years, covering more than four hectares of land with over 54,000 square metres of lettable retail space. The first phases are anchored by Ohlthaver& List’s retail subsidiary, Pick n Pay, with competitor Checkers anchoring phase 4 on the southern side.
Other significant brands include Food Lovers Market and Seattle Coffee, Dischem, Hi-Fi Corporation, Mugg & Bean, Foschini and several banks. Phase 4 also offers a full-service medical centre, Khomas Medical Centre. The new wing includes a multi-deck parking lot and a second taxi rank.
Planning for Phase 4 started eight years ago in 2011 not long after completion of Phase 3. Total investment now exceeds N$1 billion.
Dwelling on the record-time construction period, Wenk said Phase 4 required 18,000 cubic metres of concrete, held up by more than 1000 tonnes of reinforcing steel and cabling.
During the almost two years of construction, between 400 and 500 construction workers worked on the site. Once completed, the new shops added an estimated 600 new positions.
Wenk conveyed his gratitude to the project’s financiers, Rand Merchant Bank, the City of Windhoek for its support in this major CBD development, the project managers, SIP Namibia, the architects, Leon Jacobs and Axel Dainat, the quantity surveyors, Swanepoel Botha, the engineers, SCE Consulting, the main contractor, Namibia Construction, all the subcontractors, the Broll leasing team, and all the Broll Namibia employees.
Finally, he acknowledged the guidance and input from Broll Namibia’s parent, the Ohlthaver & List Group, and in particular, the support of the President, HE Dr Hage Geingob who did the honours of officially opening Phase 4. Wenk reminded the President that he also opened the first phase of Wernhil Park 29 years ago but then as Prime Minister.
Caption: The President, HE Dr Hage Geingob (centre) takes a stroll through the new wing of Wernhil Park shopping centre. He is accompanied by the Managing Director of Broll Namibia, Marco Wenk (right), the Chairman of the Ohlthaver & List Group, Sven Thieme (behind Wenk) and his security detail.
