New look M1 road in 2 years—Minister
Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara says the new look M1 between Lilongwe and the Northern Region will be ready for use in the next two years.
The minister said this on Tuesday after inspecting the progress of rehabilitation works on lots one and two of the road, noting that contractors are working to catch up with deadlines.
“They are working seriously against their targets, but that serves us both in terms of costs and purpose. They have assured me that in the next two years they should be through,” said Hara, himself a civil engineer.
Rehabilitation of the 301-kilometre (km) section from Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) junction in Lilongwe to Chiweta in Rumphi was initially projected to cost K118 billion.
Roads Authority major projects director Engineer Joel Longwe said they are inspecting every level of the construction to ensure quality.
“We gave them our standards and we are monitoring them at every stage because we don’t want substandard work. They know that once we notice shoddy work, there will be reprisals,” he said.
Construction works stalled for some months after the 44 percent kwacha devaluation last November which resulted in the upward adjustment of construction materials prices.
However, Hara said through careful consultation with the Directorate of Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA), the contract values were adjusted.
Lot one covers the section between KIA junction and Kasungu while second lot two is from Kasungu to Jenda in Mzimba, the third lot runs from Jenda to Mzimba Turn-off and the fourth lis from Kacheche to Chiweta.
Lot one covers 102km, lot two is 85.5km, lot three spans over 46.7km and lot four covers 66. 5km.
In November 2019, the Malawi Government and the European Union (EU) signed a financial agreement for 139 million euro as contribution towards the rehabilitation of the road. President Lazarus Chakwera launched the project on July 12 last year.
Of this initial amount, 95.5 million euro (about K95 billion) is a loan from European Investment Bank and 43.1 million euro (about K43 billion) is a grant from the EU.
