Escom builds 29 houses for people
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Limited has constructed 29 modern houses for community members in Mwanza and Neno districts.
The communities were displaced by the Mozambique-Malawi 400kilovolt Power Transmission Project.
Escom Limited chief executive officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda said the Malawi Government was funding the construction of the houses and other associated infrastructure such as health and school facilities to the tune of K2.5 billion.
He said the funding was part of the compensation package under a Resettlement Action Plan for the project that will see 46 houses constructed for the communities that relocated from the 76-kilometre corridor of the transmission line from Mozambique.
“The interconnection line is passing through occupied areas. Since electric lines require a clearance of about 55 metres as a way leave, people affected by the line were asked to relocate. Escom is, therefore, building houses where they move to,” said Kumwenda.
He said Escom was also drilling two boreholes in Neno and three in Mwanza, building two school blocks, a clinic, a community-based child care centre, a church and a waiting-bay at Chifunga Health Centre in Neno.
A beneficiary Juliet Masanjala of Chikapa Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Symon in Neno, has commended Escom for compensating the communities.
“This house has brought dignity to my family. We are now safe from harsh weather conditions such as heavy rains that posed a threat to our grass-thatched house,” she said.
The project has since gathered momentum as towers have been constructed on the 76-kilometre stretch for Malawi ahead of the Commercial Operations Date in November 2024.
