WINDHOEK, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's economy will expand by just over 1 percent this year and by 3 percent in the next three years, Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein said on Monday.

The southern African nation's economy contracted by 1.1 percent in 2017 and by 0.1 percent in the first quarter, but Schlettwein said economic recovery will be at just over 1 percent this year as sectors that were at the epicenter of contraction over the past two years are emerging out of negative growth territory.

"The construction sector has rebounded to positive territory by an estimated 23 percent in the first quarter of this year, with positive effects on jobs and incomes," the minister said.

He also said growth in the primary industry is still holding firm, thanks to better commodity prices and the positive impact of Chinese invested Swakop Uranium in a rather subdued uranium mining sector, as well as better output from the agriculture sector.