Railway project misses yet another deadline
The 72-kilometre Marka-Bangula railway line project has missed the newest deadline of April 26 2024, sparking a blame-game between Ministry of Transport and Public Works and Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA).
Construction works on the project started in May 2022 and was expected to end on November 17 2023, but was extended to the new deadline that has also been missed.
In a written response to a questionnaire yesterday, Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara could not detail the progress of the project, saying the new completion date and the project’s pace await determination by PPDA.
He said the process of identifying a new contractor had not yet started and that PPDA had not approved payment of K28 billion to China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation, the previous contractor.
“The project’s new cost or additional funds have not yet been determined as we are still waiting for PPDA approval for price escalations due to the [44 percent] kwacha realignment,” said Hara.
But PPDA public relations and communications manager Kate Kujaliwa said issues concerning the new contractor, project costs and the approval of payments should be directed to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
She said the ministry acts as the procuring and disposing entity (PDE) for the procurement in question and holds the relevant information.
“You may wish to engage and confirm with the PDE or the minister if the ministry has ever made a submission to the authority requesting for a ‘No Objection’ on this procurement,” said Kujaliwa.
“Notwithstanding the foregoing, be advised that the authority has no jurisdiction in respect of approving a payment to a supplier or contractor as this is under the purview of contract management, handled by the PDE.”
The decision to retender followed the government’s rejection of the contractor’s request to release an additional K28 billion to complete the work.
The contractor wrote the Ministry of Transport in August 2024 requesting for extra money due to new scope of works that primarily came as a result of cyclones Ana, Gombe and Freddy that occurred during the prolonged tender stage and after award of the contract.
The initial cost when the project in 2021 was first offered to a Portuguese construction and multi-disciplinary conglomerate Mota-Engil was K48 billion.
However, the cost went up to K68.8 billion when the government awarded the contract to the Chinese contractor in September 2021 after an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation revealed anomalies in the initial procurement process.
In 2020, President Lazarus Chakwera and his Mozambican counterpart Felipe Nyusi agreed to revive the railway line between the two countries, which is one of Malawi’s shortest route to the Port of Beira.
Mozambique already completed its 44-kilometre section from Mutarara to Marka.
