The Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) says the Shire-Zambezi Waterway project has since taken new momentum following the appointment of a coordinator at the bloc’s level rubbishing reports that it is dead.
Briefing the media on various projects, the Sadc is undertaking, Director of Infrastructure and Services Remmy Makumbe said the project remains a high profile undertaking in the region.
He said apart from Malawi and Mozambique, the regional grouping has also taken on board Zambia and Zimbabwe to ensure its smooth running before the launch of the feasibility study.
“We now have an arrangement where Sadc is coordinating the feasibility study. The project is not dead because Sadc is more involved now than before,” said Makumbe.
He said after the feasibility study which he indicated will be through by December 2014, all the countries involved will work on a plan of how the project could proceed in terms of the cost, sources of funding and how much each country would contribute towards the project.
Makumbe said the feasibility study is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) to the tune of $3.4 million.
He said despite that the money was sourced by Comesa, Sadc has taken charge to coordinate the project because almost all the concerned countries in the project are Sadc members.
During the briefing, Makumbe gave an update of various projects being undertaken by the organisation including creation of seamless corridor within the region, the digital migration, energy and electricity interconnection project.
According to Malawi, the country is expected to fully switch over by December this year as it is currently going through a procurement process.
