Japan has donated road rehabilitation equipment worth K4.4 billion to improve road maintenance in Lilongwe.
Speaking during the grant agreement signing ceremony on Friday in Lilongwe, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha said the equipment, valued at 400 million Japanese yen (approximately $2.7 million), will be handed over to Lilongwe City Council to support road rehabilitation within the capital city.
The minister described the support as timely, saying the council needs the machinery to improve road maintenance and service delivery.
“We still have three more cities. We have Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu city councils. We also need similar equipment and similar support,” said Mwanamvekha.
He assured Japan that government will ensure the equipment is properly managed and used for its intended purpose, with the Accountant General expected to oversee the management of the public assets.
Japanese Ambassador Yasushi Naito said through the grant, Lilongwe City Council will get a fleet of nine pieces of heavy machinery designed to rehabilitate roads efficiently and in a shorter time.
He said the assistance was part of Japan’s broader initiative to develop the Nacala Corridor, which aims to improve transport infrastructure and facilitate regional and international trade.
Naito noted that road transport was particularly important to Malawi, which relies on roads for approximately 90 percent of the movement of people and goods.
