Government to upgrade East Bank Road
The Roads Authority (RA) says it intends to invite contractors to bid for construction works to upgrade Chikwawa (Thabwa)—Chitseko—Seven (S152) Road, popularly known as East Bank Road.
RA has said it is expected that invitations for bids will be made in June this year.
A notice from RA published in the media says the construction works will be financed using part of proceeds from a loan government obtained from the International Development Associations (IDA-World Bank) towards the cost of the Malawi Flood Emergency Recovery Project (MFERP).
The notice says construction works expected to take place on the road include double seal surface redressing, installation of road furniture and addition of road marking to the finished highway, river training, construction of various side drains and pipe culverts parallel to the carriage.
In an interview on Tuesday Chikwawa district commissioner (DC) Bester Mandere said the road is one of the most important in the district as it passes through an agricultural productive area.
“There is also Fatima Mission Hospital besides other health centres and clinics. The construction of a new strong road will, therefore, mean a boom in business, easy access by people to social services and easy mobility by communities from the area to Blantyre and Chikwawa Boma.
“We believe that the road will have strong bridges which will not be washed away by floods as this is what happens when it floods and the area becomes difficult to access, thereby making people suffer a lot,” said Mandere.
Minister of Transport and Public Infrastructure Francis Kasaila, in May last year, said government plans to put permanent structures on Thabwa-Masenjere-Fatima Road which was one of the roads that were heavily damaged during the January 2015 floods that affected over 1 220 kilometres of road network in the country. n
