K595bn compact deal launch shifted to April
The much-touted K595 billion Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Malawi Transport and Land Compact expected to be launched this month, has been shifted to April 2024.
In a statement issued yesterday, the United States (US) Embassy in Lilongwe said the postponement of the second compact will not interrupt as all activities will proceed as planned.
Reads the statement: “Moving the official launch date will simply start the official five-year compact timeline three months later than initially planned to provide sufficient time in the project timeline for our anticipated activities.”
The statement further commended government for its diligent work in preparing for the official launch and meeting all mandatory requirements.
Malawi Millennium Development Trust chief executive officer Dye Mawindo, in an earlier interview, said that the delay to launch the compact was necessary since the Malawi Government wanted to finalise all the conditions precedent (CPs) to avoid missing the five-year deadline.
CPs are conditions that must be met by the Malawi Government before Compact Facilitation Funding Disbursements.
Malawi qualified for the second compact towards the end of 2018 and MCC formalised the award with a signing ceremony in September 2022 that President Lazarus Chakwera attended in Washington DC, United States of America.The new compact will focus on increasing land productivity through sector reforms, improving road infrastructure to reduce transport costs from the farm to the market and incentivising private investment into inclusive agriculture products.
The targeted four roads with a combined length of 287 kilometres (km) are Chileka through Malingunde-Likuni (53km), Chamtulo on Golomoti to Monkey Bay-Mkutumula (79km); Euthini-Chikwawa in Rumphi (67km) and Mkanda-Linga, Kasungu (88km).
At least $244 million has been budgeted for the roads while $44 million is for the land project and another $ 8.5 million will go towards a project called American Catalyst Facility for Development
