Mpico explains Gateway Shopping Mall delays
Malawi Property Investment Company (Mpico) has said the Gateway Shopping Mall under construction in Lilongwe will be completed next year.
Mpico managing director Gray Nthinda in an interview on Wednesday said the project which stalled due to the fuel and foreign exchange shortages has resumed.
“The project has delayed because of the foreign exchange shortage that hit the country. Construction would have been completed by now. With the delay, we expect that by August next year, everything will be in order,” he said.
He said the mall will have 83 shops and the biggest shop, being constructed by Stefanutti Stockes of South Africa, has already been taken up by Pick ‘n’ Pay also from South Africa.
Nthinda said the mall will create a lot of employment opportunities for Malawians.
The Gateway is going to be Malawi’s first regional shopping centre and it was expected to cost $42 million (K10.5 billion) when construction started in 2010.
There are currently four shopping malls under construction in Lilongwe and These are Sogecoa Mall in City Centre, Corporate Mall near the Road Traffic Office and the one being constructed by Manobec near the Mchinji Roundabout.
