Road stalls $200m liwonde dry port

The much-awaited Liwonde Dry Port, which Portuguese conglomerate Mota-Engil is expected to construct, has delayed to take off largely due to lack of access road.

The road in question is expected to connect the area where the port will be located to the railway line along the Shire River, it has been learnt.

Dubbed Malawi Gateway Project, the port will be located at the junction of two main railway lines at Liwonde and will serve as a trade hub or extended gate for Malawi imports and exports from the sea port of Nacala in Mozambique.

The location has three potential access of different modes of transport, namely road, water and rail with high capacity access to Nacala railway line.

Speaking in an interview on Friday in Lilongwe, Minister of Transport and Public works Malison Ndau said Mota-Engil has written government asking for authorisation to construct a road that will connect the dry port to the railway.

“We will be sending a team of experts [this week] from the ministry to assess where the road will pass and how many people will be required to be compensated by Mota-Engil,” he said.

Ndau said the port is an asset to the country because once completed, it will reduce the cost of transportation of goods by about 60 percent, making commodities cheaper.

“Mota-Engil has assured us that construction of the port will start in earnest once the road has been constructed,” he said.

The dry port, which is expected to cost about $200 million (K146 billion), will help to reduce the amount of goods to be transported by road; hence, reducing the road damage by trucks as well as translate into lower road maintenance budget.

Ndau said different ministries have been involved in the discussions to see how the investor can be supported to roll out the project with ease.

Last year, the investor asked government for assurance that once the project is completed there will be enough wagons to transport various products from the port to other parts of the country.

Mota-Engil spokesperson Thomas Chafunya, in a separate interview, said when all the outstanding issues that have delayed the project are sorted out, they are ready to start construction.

“As a company, we are ready and we are just waiting for the government to give us the go head,” he said.

Once the project is completed, it is expected to help Malawi regain its position on the world map from a landlocked status to a hinterland with modern and high standard link to a deep sea port.

The Liwonde port will also be a catalyst for regional development and enhance the creation of an Export Processing Zone (EPZ).