Bangula-Marka railway project at 17% progress
Ministry of Transport and Public Works says construction of the 72- kilometre (km) Bangula-Marka railway line project has registered about 17 percent progress, one year after it started.
The pace has raised fears that the cost might be revised upwards.
Ministry of Transport and Public Works director of railways Geoffrey Magwede said in an interview on Monday there has been “enough progress” being made on the project.
“There is progress. Actually the cement to be used for construction is being transported through railway that has been done on the side of Mozambique,” he said.
However, Magwede referred The Nation to Ministry of Transport and Public Works spokesperson Ganizani Liwewe who estimated progress as of December 2022 at 17 percent.
He said the contractor, China Railway Bureau Group Corporation, has cleared a 15km section where he will be working.
Said Liwewe: “There is already one sleeper-making plant but there was need for another one on this side so that the contractor reduces costs. The sleeper-making plant will also be used during maintenance after the project.”
He said the contractor has also worked on one km stretch from Marka to facilitate importation of items by rail from Mozambique.
On the impact of the delays, Liwewe said the contractor indicated that there will be need to discuss the cost of the project at some point.
“We are aware of it that there may be a requirement to revise the cost,” he said.
In a separate interview on Monday, Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda said his ministry is interested to see the project completed soon as it will help promote trade between the two countries.
The project is pegged at K68 billion, but there are fears that the cost might be affected by the 25 percent devaluation of the kwacha effected in May last year.
Initially, Mota-Engil Malawi emerged as the lowest successful bidder for the project at a cost of K48 billion in 2021, but the Anti-Corruption Bureau nullified the tender citing procurement irregularities.
Ministry of Transport and Public Works retendered the project and a Chinese firm China 20 was last year hired for the project at the cost of about K68 billion.
In October 2020, President Lazarus Chakwera and his Mozambican counterpart Felipe Nyusi agreed to revive the Sena Corridor to link the two countries by rail. The corridor provides rail connection to Beira Port in Mozambique. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2021 to have rehabilitation works of the railway line completed by March 2022. Mozambique completed its 44km stretch while Malawi is yet to complete works.
