Rehabilitation works of the M1 between Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) junction and the Northern Region is reportedly at an average 30 percent as at end May 2025 with varying progress at multiple sites.
Roads Authority (RA) said in a statement yesterday that the completion timeline is end of 2026 for Lot 4 while Lots 1, 2 and 3 are projected for completion by early 2026.
“The Malawi M1 rehabilitation project continues to make strides in improving the country’s primary transport corridor, with notable progress across multiple work sites,” reads part of the statement.
The project was split into four lots comprising Lot 1 covering 102 kilometres (km) between KIA Turnoff and Kasungu now at 28 percent completion, Lot 2 of 86km between Kasungu and Jenda in Mzimba at 24 percent and Lot 3 covering 47km from Jenda to Mzimba Turnoff at 35 percent while Lot 4, from Kacheche to Chiweta, spanning 66km is at 18 percent.
Each lot was allocated with a specific contractor. China Jiangxi International is working on Lot 1, Mota-Engil Malawi on Lot 2, Unik Construction Engineering Limited on Lot 3 and China Henan International Company Limited on Lot 4.
RA said 2 686 out of 2 925 people affected by the project were paid compensation by Roads Fund Administration, representing a 92 percent compensation rate.
Compensation across all the lots remains ongoing for the remaining affected people, according to the statement.
In March 2025, the European Union (EU) announced a 20.4 million euro (K40.8 billion) additional funding towards the project with prospects of further funding by the European Investment Bank (EIB) amid discussions.
The additional funding was necessitated by changes in initial detailed designs prepared in 2018, further road deterioration and increased traffic loads. The funding also covered part of inflation costs and implementation support.
The EU initially pumped in 140 million euro (about K273 billion) for the project which was expected to be completed by December 2024.
Immediate past EU Delegation Ambassador Rune Skinnebach earlier expressed hope that the 2026 deadline would be met, especially following the additional funding.
RA chief executive officer Engineer Ammiel Champiti also said the authority would ensure that the project is moving at the right pace to meet the new deadline.
Rehabilitation works of the M1 is being funded by the EU and EIB, consisting of a multi-scheme road operation for the rehabilitation of about 300.5 km of the single carriageway with no changes to the existing alignment.
RA is the implementing agency, overseeing the project’s execution.
Rehabilitation of the M1 is a focus of the EU’s global gateway strategy for infrastructure development in Africa.
