Govt resumes Mzuzu dual carriageway project
The Ministry of Transport and Public Works says it has resumed its earlier plans to construct a one-kilometre dual carriageway in Mzuzu City which was scrapped off from the K16.7 billion Mzuzu-Nkhata Bay Road rehabilitation project.
In December last year, the ministry announced that the road section from Katoto Roundabout to Mzuzu Court House would not be upgraded into a dual carriageway as earlier planned due to shortage of funds.
during the site visit
However, after touring the road project on Friday, Roads Authority(RA) chief executive officer Emmanuel Matapa said government has rescinded its decision.
“Initially, we had a plan for the road’s 47 kilometres from Katoto to Nkhata Bay Port, but we thought the funds were not enough to cover the whole stretch. That’s why we reduced the project to 46km. But now we will go ahead with our initial plans,” he said.
Matapa said the section will cost between K500 million and K1 billion borrowed from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Strabag International GmbH is the contractor.
Minister of Transport and Public Works Jappie Mhango said the project will be completed in August and not May as earlier projected.
The Mzuzu-Nkhata Bay Road is part of the Mtwara Development Corridor which links Malawi to the port of Mtwara in Tanzania on the Indian Ocean.
The road will, therefore, also serve as an export and import route for Malawi and neighbouring countries.
