Chilima hails MDF on high quality road project
Vice-President Saulos Chilima says the country needs quality roads like the Ntcheu – Tsangano Road which is being constructed by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Engineers Battalion.
Speaking on Sunday after inspecting progress of the road which is at 55 percent completion, he urged speed in government projects while ensuring quality for meaningful development.
Said Chilima: “This is impressive. We need such good quality roads in the country.”
On his part, Roads Authority chief executive officer (CEO) Engineer Emmanuel Matapa said construction of the road stalled due to some administrative issues at the MDF Engineers Battalion and delayed payments.
The road was initially expected to be completed on September 25 2019.
He said: “We are also happy with the quality of the road.”
Matapa said once completed, the road will provide a shortcut for goods coming in through Mwanza Border since it connects Tsangano, Mwanza and Blantyre.
He said the road is being upgraded from earth/gravel to bitumen standard as guided by the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III) and the Transport Master Plan 2018 which promote economic growth and development in the transport sector.
Matapa added that the project being executed in phases, with the first phase covering 21 kilometres (km) from Biriwiri to Kambilonjo.
The CEO said so far, eight kilometres have been surfaced and that the budget for the 21km stretch is K3.218 billion.
Among other benefits, the project has created direct employment for people along the project site. It will also reduce travelling time and costs, reduce road maintenance costs and improve agricultural production and health service delivery.
The road project started on April 3 2018 and was scheduled to run for 18 months until September 25 2019 but the completion date was revised to November 30 2020.
