Portuguese contractor Mota-Engil has started constructing the Njakwa–Livingstonia–Chitimba road, in northern Malawi.
According to Malawi President Peter Mutharika, who officially launched the $50-million project, “construction of the road will mark a milestone in the development of the country”.
Malawi Transport and Public Works Minister Francis Kasaila says the 80 km road will be constructed in three years. “The good thing about the project is that it will be funded by a contractor whose capacity to deliver a project of this magnitude is beyond doubt,” he adds.
Other road project expected to start this year include the Mzuzu–NKhata Bay road project, which should start in June, the Liwonde–Mangochi road project, scheduled to start in July, and the Lilongwe–Old Airport–Kasiya–Santhe road project.
Mota-Engil has over the years emerged as a dominant force in Malawi’s transport and mining sectors, enjoying a good share of contracts in the two growing sectors.
The Portuguese firm is, besides others, a contractor for Brazilian company Vale Logistics’ $1-billion stretch of rail that passes through Malawi Mozambique’s Moatize coalfield to the country’s Indian Ocean port of Nacala.
Mota-Engil is also constructing the Blantyre–Zomba road and the Lilongwe City West Bypass road, both of which are being financed by the African Development Bank under the Nacala Road Corridor Programme.
The company constructed the Nsanje port, which is to be Malawi’s access point for the proposed Shire–Zambezi waterway using its own funds. It runs shipping services on Lake Malawi and manages the lake’s ports in a public–private partnership.