WINDHOEK, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) on Friday jointly pledged 8 billion Namibian dollars (around 544 million U.S. dollars) for infrastructure development in Namibia.

The pledges consist of 3 billion Namibian dollars for water projects, 2.5 billion Namibian dollars for electricity generation and transmission, and 2.5 billion Namibian dollars for acquisition of rolling stocks and railway network upgrades.

The announcements and pledges were made by DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi and DBSA Head of SADC Client Coverage Davies Pwele.

Pwele said that DBSA supports regional development and integration strategies, aimed at facilitating trade in Africa by investing in infrastructure projects in Africa. In collaboration with national and regional development finance institutions, DBSA identifies and co-finances projects that have synergistic economic development impacts on the SADC region and Africa.

DBN and DBSA have a long-standing relationship that is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding. The memorandum enables both banks to jointly participate in the financing of infrastructure projects in Namibia, Pwele said.