Marep 9 deadline nears, 160 sites connected
Four months to the December 2024 deadline, Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (Marep) Phase Nine has connected 140 sites out of the targeted 460 amid the race to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.
The project was scheduled to wind up on August 31 this year, but the deadline was moved to October and later to December 2024.
Marep 9 is also facing the challenge of escalated costs after jumping from K40 billion to K70 billion due to devaluation of the kwacha and an increase in minimum wage.
President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday commissioned a Marep 9 site at Group Village Nguluwe under Traditional Authority Mbenje in Nsanje District. About 300 households are said to have been connected to the power grid in the area.
In his remarks, the President assured communities of the government’s commitment to extending electrification and water access to rural areas across the country.
He said: “Issues of water and electricity are important and my government will ensure that people have access to these amenities across the country.”
In an interview on the project’s progress, Ministry of Energy chief energy officer Austin Theu said Marep 9 is expected to be completed by early December after missing the August 31 deadline.
He said work in some sites was at 80 percent completion while in others it is at around 60 percent; hence, extension of the deadline.
“We are hoping that come December the contractors will be finishing their work,” said Theu.
He said the ministry is also yet to get approval from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) on the K70 billion cost.
Marep was introduced to increase access to electricity, especially in rural areas where about five percent of the population is connected. The target is to reach 30 percent electrification in rural areas by 2030, the year Malawi is expected to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy under Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG).
Theu said the ministry hopes to achieve this through implementation of grid and off-grid energy initiatives such as Marep, African Minigrids Programme and Wala Malawi Programme.
Malawi’s access to electricity is around 11 percent while off-grid access is estimated at 15 percent.
In a separate interview, Community Energy Malawi country director Edgar Kapiza Bayani said the slow pace of Marep 9 makes it unlikely for Malawi to achieve SDG 7 by 2030. He called for accelerated implementation of Malawi’s energy policy projects.
Marep 9 planning started in 2019 and the first tender for the supply of materials was floated in May 2020. However, the Tonse Alliance administration suspended issuance of new contracts in June 2020, a development which led to the expiry of bid validities.
Current contracts were signed in December 2023 and some contractors started work in January 2024 while others started in February.
Marep began in 1980 under Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi as the implementing agency before the Department of Energy took over in 1995.
