ENGINEERING NAMIBIA’S FUTURE
ENGINEERING NAMIBIA’S FUTUR Knight Piésold is building Namibia’s future with engineering excellence across myriad disciplines. We hear about the company’s transformational work from Cilliers Mostert, Managing Director, and Günter Leicher, Director Writer: Ed Budds Cilliers Mostert, Managing Director
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Project Manager: Josh Whiteside
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or over a century, Knight Piésold has built a reputation as one of Africa’s leading engineering and environmental consulting firms. Founded in South Africa (SA) in 1921, the company has evolved into a global multidisciplinary consultancy operating across Africa, Australia, North and South America, and Europe. Today, Knight Piésold Southern Africa remains proudly Africanrooted, with Namibia playing an increasingly strategic role in both the company’s regional growth and longterm vision.
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RE The organisation has established itself as a trusted engineering partner across the mining, infrastructure, water, environmental, and energy sectors in Namibia. Since establishing a formal domestic presence in 2008, Knight Piésold has expanded steadily, delivering some of Namibia’s most significant engineering projects whilst supporting both public and private sector development. The Namibian office continues to grow from strength to strength under the leadership of Managing Director, Cilliers Mostert, and
Günter Leicher, Director
Director, Günter Leicher, supported by the broader technical capabilities and specialist expertise of Knight Piésold Southern Africa. “Together, the Namibian and South African teams collaborate seamlessly to provide multidisciplinary engineering solutions that are innovative, sustainable, and aligned with global best practice,” opens Mostert. Mostert leads with more than two decades of engineering and project management experience. Since joining Knight Piésold in 2012, he has overseen the growth Mining Outlook Issue 16 | 3
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of the Namibian business and played a leading role in major infrastructure development and mining projects throughout the country. He has been instrumental in positioning the business as a respected engineering consultancy capable of delivering nationally significant projects whilst maintaining strong relationships with mining clients, private sector stakeholders, and government. “Knight Piésold’s success in the country is deeply connected to its philosophy of combining local knowledge with international expertise,” he continues. This approach has enabled the company to deliver landmark projects that contribute meaningfully to Namibia’s economic development, mining growth, water security, sporting infrastructure, and environmental stewardship.
GROWING FOOTPRINT Knight Piésold’s vast African footprint continues to expand through operations across Namibia, SA,
Botswana, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Eswatini, and Madagascar. “The Southern African business forms a critical part of the company’s global operations and showcases the strength of African engineering capability on the world stage,” comments Leicher. “Namibia remains one of the most strategically important regions within this footprint due to its growing mining sector, infrastructure development opportunities, renewable energy potential, and government-driven development plans,” he adds. From Windhoek to Keetmanshoop, Lüderitz, Rosh Pinah, Ondangwa, and beyond, Knight Piésold has become recognised for delivering highquality engineering services across complex and technically demanding environments. The Namibian office is further strengthened through technical support from Knight Piésold’s South African offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Phalaborwa.
ADVANCING TAILINGS SAFETY Knight Piésold continues to play a leading role in advancing responsible tailings management practices across the mining industry. The company aligns its tailings engineering practices with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), which provides a globally recognised framework for the safe management of tailings facilities. GISTM focuses on: • Tailings safety • Risk reduction • Community protection • Environmental stewardship • Governance and accountability • Emergency preparedness • Continuous monitoring Knight Piésold’s tailings expertise across Southern Africa allows Namibian mining operations to access world-class technical support aligned with international best practice and evolving global compliance standards.
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Staff celebrate at Knight Piésold
NCG in Windhoek. The facility opened in 2025
“ W I T H S T R O N G L E A D E R S H I P, M U LT I D I S C I P L I N A R Y E X P E R T I S E , R E G I O N A L S U P P O R T, A N D A D E E P C O M M I T M E N T T O N A M I B I A’ S F U T U R E , K N I G H T P I É S O L D I S N OT O N LY E N G I N E E R I N G P R O J E C T S – IT IS HELPING ENGINEER THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY ITSELF” – CILLIERS MOSTERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KNIGHT PIÉSOLD
Furthermore, the specialist in-house skills in the Namibian office and support from the South African and International offices, allows the Namibia office to perform the following services; geotechnical, structural, tailings, dam, transportation, and water resources engineering, as well as hydrology and hydrogeology, environmental consulting, project management, construction supervision, mining infrastructure, and renewable energy support services. As a result, this integrated support network allows Knight Piésold to undertake both mega infrastructure projects and highly specialised technical assignments with confidence and efficiency.
EXCELLENCE ACROSS KEY SECTORS Knight Piésold provides multidisciplinary services across numerous sectors critical to Namibia’s growth and development. Mining remains one of the country’s most important economic sectors, and Knight Piésold has become a trusted partner to mining clients across the region. “Our extensive mining experience across Southern Africa enables the Namibian operation to deliver solutions aligned with international standards whilst addressing local operational requirements,” says Mostert. Knight Piésold has been supporting developments within the mining space across Namibia, and the
company’s mining expertise continues to grow beyond traditional tailings engineering into broader mining infrastructure and environmental services. In Namibia, water security remains a strategic priority for all clients, making Knight Piésold’s expertise in dams, pipelines, hydrology, geohydrology, and water infrastructure especially valuable. Additionally, it continues to support infrastructure development across transportation, municipal, and industrial sectors. Across its entire breadth of projects, environmental responsibility and sustainable engineering are increasingly critical in modern project development for Knight Piésold. Mining Outlook Issue 16 | 5
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Golden Arrow Award at PMR.africa’s Business Excellence Awards ceremony
INVESTING IN NAMIBIA One of the most exciting recent developments involving Knight Piésold is the Namibia Cricket Ground (NCG) High-Performance Stadium project in Windhoek. “This project represents a major investment in Namibia’s sporting infrastructure and positions the country to host international cricket events whilst supporting athlete development and tourism growth,” Leicher expands. The exciting project includes International Cricket Council (ICC)compliant cricket facilities, highperformance training infrastructure, stadium facilities, administration and hospitality spaces, which in engineering terms are provided via reinforced concrete structural works, civil and and infrastructure support. “We believe this project showcases Knight Piésold’s ability to diversify beyond traditional mining and water infrastructure into social and sporting infrastructure that contributes to national development,” he excites. On the back of projects such as this, the company’s work across Namibia and Southern Africa has received numerous commendations 6 | Mining Outlook Issue 16
“ K N I G H T P I É S O L D R E C O G N I S E S T H AT T H E FUTURE OF ENGINEERING DEPENDS ON C R E AT I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S F O R D I V E R S E TA L E N T A N D S U P P O R T I N G G R E AT E R I N C LU S I O N AC R OSS T H E P R O F E SS I O N ” – CILLIERS MOSTERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KNIGHT PIÉSOLD
and awards that recognise its engineering excellence, innovation, and commitment to quality. This includes numerous industry recognitions for sustainable engineering excellence, infrastructure innovation, and technical quality. These awards reflect the professionalism, technical expertise, and dedication of Knight Piésold’s teams across the continent.
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING At present, a key priority for the company is driving inclusion and transformation. “Knight Piésold recognises that the future of engineering depends on creating opportunities for diverse talent and supporting greater inclusion across the profession,” Mostert elaborates.
“Across Namibia and Southern Africa, women within Knight Piésold continue to contribute significantly to engineering, environmental consulting, project management, sustainability, and technical leadership, demonstrating the increasing role of women in shaping Africa’s infrastructure and mining future, he sets out. In this way, the company remains committed to supporting women in STEM careers. It is also focused on developing young professionals, mentorship and training, skills development initiatives, inclusive workplace culture, and advancing professional growth opportunities. This commitment aligns with the company’s broader transformation and sustainability objectives across the continent.
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VISION OF CONTINUED GROWTH Knight Piésold continues to position itself for future growth as Namibia enters an exciting new era of infrastructure investment, mining expansion, energy development, and industrial advancement. As such, a sprawling mix of opportunities abound, linked to mining expansion, green hydrogen, renewable energy, water infrastructure, regional logistics, sporting infrastructure, and urban development.
SUPPORTING NAMIBIA THROUGH SOUTH AFRICAN AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE A major strength of Knight Piésold is its ability to draw from the extensive technical depth available within its Southern African and international businesses. The specialist in Namibia is supported by the South African offices to create an even stronger team across the region. This collaboration enables: • Specialist peer reviews • Advanced engineering modelling • Large-scale project delivery support • Technical quality assurance • Cross-border knowledge sharing • Skills transfer and mentorship • Regional project integration Importantly, Knight Piésold’s model has always prioritised local empowerment and regional collaboration rather than dependency, ensuring that Namibian capability continues to grow whilst benefiting from global and regional technical excellence.
All of these fields present exciting pathways for the company’s continued contribution to Namibia’s future. “The firm’s long-term commitment to the country is reflected not only through major projects and office expansion, but also through investment in local talent, technical development, and sustainable partnerships,” states Leicher. Moreover, as Namibia continues to grow, Knight Piésold remains committed to delivering engineering solutions that create long-term value for clients, communities, and the broader region.
support communities, and drive national growth,” Mostert prides. “With strong leadership, multidisciplinary expertise, regional support, and a deep commitment to Namibia’s future, Knight Piésold is not only engineering projects – it is helping engineer the future of the country itself,” he finishes. As the company moves beyond 105 years of engineering excellence, its Namibian operation remains poised for continued expansion, innovation, and impact across the African continent.
A SYMBOL FOR DEVELOPMENT Knight Piésold stands today as a symbol of African engineering capability, technical excellence, and sustainable development. “From the monumental Neckartal Dam to cutting-edge mining developments and sporting infrastructure, the company continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver projects that shape industries,
Tel: +264 61 307 297 11 Nelson Mandela Avenue Klein Windhoek Windhoek, Namibia PO Box 86062, Eros Windhoek, Namibia
knightpiesold.com Mining Outlook Issue 16 | 7
Tel: +264 61 307 297 11 Nelson Mandela Avenue Klein Windhoek Windhoek, Namibia P.O. Box 86062, Eros Windhoek, Namibia
knightpiesold.com
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