Salima-Lilongwe water project pushed to March

Ministry of Water and Sanitation has set March 1 2024 as the commencement date for the construction of the $315 million (about K 535.500 billion) Salima-Lilongwe Water Supply Project.

Line minister Abida Mia said this in Parliament on Tuesday after members of Parliament (MPs) had earlier queried when the project would start.

In December 2023, Ministry of Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Elias Chimulambe assured the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change that construction of the project would start in 2024 and that the project would be re-launched on January 25 2024.

The ministry later changed tune, saying the project would start in February 2024.

But on Tuesday, when the MPs asked about the project, Mia without disclosing the actual date, said it will start soon.

However, in an interview later, the minister said the construction will commence on March 1 2024.

Said Mia: “Apart from ensuring access to clean water, the project is expected to promote irrigation as farmers will be able to tap water from the system at a cheaper rate.”

Government secured K105 billion funding for the project through local banks.

Khato Civils spokesperson Daniel Mababa said the company is ready to start work on the project as they have been waiting for its funding.

“Mobilisation is not an issue. We have Khato Equipment that has in stock every bit of machinery needed in this project. Some of that equipment is already in Malawi,” he said.

Parliament in April 2023 passed a bill to have government borrow K105 billion from local banks for implementation of the project. The K105 billion by then was government’s 30 percent investment in the project.

Government awarded the contract for construction of the Salima-Lilongwe water system to Khato Civils and South Zambezi joint venture.