Malawi: The Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP) has announced the intention to rehabilitate the Liwonde-Matawale (M003) road. The project is being implemented through the Roads Authority and will improve approximately 47 kilometers of road infrastructure.
The aim of the rehabilitation is to improve transportation services and reduce trade costs and time. The people of the community have been looking forward to this development for several months.
The announcement was made during the bid opening ceremony at the Capital Hotel in Lilongwe on Friday. During this ceremony, about eleven companies offered their bid for the construction of the road.
Director of the major project under Roads Authority, Joel Longwe shared the specific details about the the rehabilitation of the road. He said that it will include a design review for the project.
The organization will include climate vulnerability assessment, validation of the economic feasibility study of the road, reviewing the environmental and social impact assessment and road safety star rating for schools along the corridor.
“For the record, government and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique have received financial support amounting to US$380 million from International Development Association (IDA) for the implementation of the SATCP.
“Our team and the potential bidders, engineers and some staff members from the Ministry of Transport and public works were taken on a tour for the rehabilitation of the road on the sixth of January this year in order to get clarification on the project specification and expectations,” he explained.
He further explained that the preliminary phase is crucial for ensuring that contractors have a comprehensive understanding of the project before submitting their bids hence it was relevant to have a meeting before signing the contract with the best bidder.
He said during the site visit, contractors were able to physically assess the project location focusing on several key factors like site conditions, measurements and layout, utilities and surroundings as well as traffic management.
The contract will be given to the organization by the end of May 2025. Further, the construction of the road project is expected to start by the first of July 2025