By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
The Namibia Standard Institution has expanded its services to the economy through its newly expanded office on the coast.
According to the Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, Lucia Iipumb, the inspection centre has expanded its operations and ability to offer services to the fishing and related industries because of the large size and suitability of the inspection laboratory.
The new facility provides adequate space to conduct laboratory frozen and chilled fish inspections.
This means the inspectorate can process a much more diverse product range and increase the quantity of products, thus allowing the NSI to move beyond frozen fish inspection as its central focus.
Import inspection for especially canned fish and meat, fishery, and related products can now be realised, contributing to food security for the Namibia consumer.
Iipumbu also added that it is the ministry’s wish and hope that more products will be accommodated soon.
She also updated that under the European Union Funded Twinning Initiative, technical support in areas of Standardisation, Certification, Trade, and Industry will be rendered to NSI.
Upon completion, the project will capacitate the Inspection Centre with technologically compatible equipment to advance its operations, which will increase Namibia’s trade capacity and prospects, according to Iipumbu.
In addition, the minister has also updated that the new facility houses a satellite metrology laboratory.
The satellite metrology laboratory will be operationalised once the necessary equipment has been sourced through the European Union Funded Twinning Initiative.
She said once the laboratory is equipped, businesses in the Erongo Region that require measurement services will be serviced for volume and mass metrology services by the centre.
Iipumbu has also indicated that the centre’s construction involved Namibians from start to finish as Namibians conceived and designed and built it by local companies.
The new inspection centre is expected to improve the NSI’s inspection and metrology capacity to a level that the business community will appreciate.
Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
